Clare Cusack is the president and CEO of the New York Bankers Association, the premier trade association for the banking industry in New York state. She is the first woman to serve as the association’s leader in its 132-year history.
As head of NYBA, Clare is proud to represent banks of every size, region, and charter across New York. Together as a unified industry, NYBA’s members employ nearly 140,000 New Yorkers, safeguard $2.4 trillion in deposits, and extend $78 billion in home and small business loans annually.
Clare’s leadership and uncompromising advocacy on behalf of NYBA members have earned her multiple distinctions, including three-time recognition on City & State’s Power 100 list, which named NYBA a Top Trade Association in 2025 and designated her as an Economic Development Trailblazer. Other honors include the New York Society of Association Executives’ Chief Executive of the Year in 2024, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award, and the Schneps Media’s Power Women of Manhattan 2025 list.
Clare was previously general counsel and COO for NYBA, overseeing the association’s legal and operational matters and supporting each of NYBA’s divisions and areas, including government relations, professional development, service provider partnerships, major industry events, and legal and regulatory strategy. Before that, she was an attorney with the Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, focusing her practice within the securities litigation and regulatory investigation fields. She is a proud graduate of the State University of New York at Geneseo and Fordham University School of Law.
Clare serves on the board of directors of Pursuit (formerly the New York Business Development Corporation) a Small Business Administration and U.S. Treasury-certified community development financial institution. She is also vice chair of the board of directors of the Geneseo Foundation, a nonprofit foundation that supports her alma mater.
