“My Calling: The COVID-19 Pandemic”
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Featured Speaker: Aamina B. Akhtar, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer, Mercy Hospital South
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Aamina B. Akhtar, M.D., is the chief medical officer for Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis and an infectious disease specialist. She was named chief medical officer in September 2019, which was fortuitous with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, just six months later. With her expertise in infectious diseases, Dr. Akhtar was a vital leader for Mercy South, the Mercy health system and the entire St. Louis region. She represents Mercy as a member of the St. Louis Metropolitan Task Force, coordinates Mercy South’s pandemic planning, education and community outreach, and became a leading voice in the community through her frequent media appearances to educate the public including being the first person in the St. Louis area to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. While serving in these leadership roles, Dr. Akhtar continued to serve her patients in the hospital and through her private practice, Infectious Disease, P.C. She serves as president of her practice, managing eight physicians and two infusion centers in addition to providing patient care. She serves on the board of the Infectious Diseases Society of St. Louis where she is currently treasurer and previously served as president. She is a founding member of Helping Hands, an organization in Pakistan which provides funding for school, housing, medical and other needs of the indigent population. Dr. Akhtar is also a member of Mercy Women in Leadership.
Dr. Akhtar believes we are all part of a bigger plan and points to the timing of her becoming chief medical officers as a prime example. Any physician specialist can serve as a chief medical officer, but having an infectious disease specialist just prior to the start of a pandemic feels like she was specifically called to serve. She finds serving as a physician fulfilling because of the opportunity to aid the sick, educate people about their health and support people through times that they feel most vulnerable. Her additional leadership roles give her an expanded opportunity to guide quality operations that are vital to the health care of an entire community.
Giving back to oneself every day is how she finds balance. She believes that unless she remembers to take care of herself, she will not have the fortitude to continue her work. It can be as simple as watching her son’s baseball game, listening to her daughter talk about her day or watching an episode of her favorite Netflix show.
Dr. Akhtar said, “I think as women, we have come so far with glass ceilings being broken everywhere, but there are more ceilings out there for us to shatter. The foundation of being successful is being confident in your attributes as a leader. Any life role will have challenges and hurdles, but meeting them with professionalism and conviction is a key to success.”
She is married with three children.
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“Leading Through the Pandemic and Into the Future”
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Featured Speaker: Marsha Benney
Chief Financial Officer, Midwest BankCentre
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Marsha Benney, chief financial officer, is responsible for overseeing the St. Louis Midwest BankCentre’s enterprise risk management, finance and accounting, facilities and fraud/security operations. She works with the executive leadership team to develop strategy and to achieve the bank’s strategic objectives. Benney has more than 25 years of financial services and community banking experience. She has particular expertise in partnering both internally and externally to drive optimized business results, engage team members, enhance customer experiences and implement industry best practices.
Benney started her career in community banking, holding various positions in consumer, commercial and mortgage lending operations. She then joined KPMG Audit Services in its financial services audit practice, serving a variety of large and small community banking clients. Benney returned to community banking with First Bank, serving as its senior vice president of risk management. She joined Midwest BankCentre in 2015, leading the bank’s risk management functions and overseeing teams responsible for audit, compliance, enterprise risk management, loan and appraisal review, project management and vendor management. She was promoted to chief operating officer in 2019 and chief financial officer in 2021.
The most profound example of Benny‘s leadership can be recognized in the urgent and comprehensive response she marshaled during the pandemic to minimize its impact on employees, customers and shareholders. She mobilized teams to provide a financial lifeline to local businesses by breaking down silos, creating a coordinated effort with strong collaboration among departments and challenging teams to reimagine and re-engineer the loan process so small business owners could get urgently needed funds. In all, Midwest BankCentre was able to secure over $285 million in 2,100+ Paycheck Protection Plus (PPP) loans, helping both long-time customers and new clients survive the pandemic.
Benney has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting from Southeast Missouri State University. She is a licensed certified public accountant (CPA) in Missouri and belongs to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). An active member of her community, she serves on the Fontbonne University Board of Trustees and is chair of the Finance Committee.
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