Martha Linsley

Martha Linsley serves as the Barack Obama Foundation's Acting Chief Financial Officer, overseeing accounting, financial planning and analysis, and procurement for The Foundation. She partners closely with the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Leadership Team on financial strategy and long-term sustainability, and advises the Board on financial performance, liquidity, risk, and strategic investments. Since joining The Foundation in 2021, Martha has led a multi-year financial operating plan that scaled the organization's annual operating budget, launched its endowment strategy, and overhauled its risk and insurance profile as the Obama Presidential Center opened to the public.

Before joining The Foundation, Martha spent nearly two decades in public finance, most recently leading Midwest public finance teams at Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital. In this role, she advised public-sector and nonprofit clients on long-term financial planning, capital strategy, and risk management and executed more than $20 billion in public-sector financings, including the largest municipal financing in the United States in nearly a decade. Earlier in her career, she held roles at Siebert Williams Shank, Mesirow Financial, and Lehman Brothers, and began her career at Ernst & Young implementing hedge accounting and derivative-related protocols on behalf of clients.

Martha holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with Distinction from the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business and completed the Emerging CFO Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Chicago, where she serves as Treasurer at Friends of Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and is a member of the Old Town Association. Outside of work, she enjoys waterskiing, running, and exploring the world with her children and husband.