Obama Foundation Names Ammar Rizki as Chief Financial Officer

May 2, 2022 at 9:00 AM CDT

CHICAGO -- Today the Obama Foundation announced that Ammar Rizki, an experienced government and corporate financial executive, will join the Foundation’s team as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In this position he will play a critical role in the development and implementation of the financial systems and processes of the Foundation and is responsible for direct oversight of finance, accounting, treasury, and risk. Rizki will start his position with the Foundation in mid-June.

“Ammar’s extensive experience in government and investment management, and deep understanding of complex financial systems will be invaluable to the growth and evolution of the Foundation,” said Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation. “He brings a broad range of expertise that will move our mission forward as we empower the next generation of leaders and build the Obama Presidential Center.”

Most recently, Rizki served as the Chief Financial Officer of Cook County, where he helped spearhead dramatic improvements to the county’s finances and pension funding. He was appointed CFO of Cook County in September 2017 having previously served as deputy chief financial officer for almost four years. During his tenure with Cook County, Rizki was instrumental in establishing the County’s Equity and Inclusion Fund to address historic disparities and disinvestments in Black, Latinx, and other marginalized communities. He also oversaw the development of a first-of-its-kind equity model used to award over $51 million of coronavirus relief to local governments.

Prior to joining the County, Rizki held a number of managerial and analytic roles in banking and investment management.

“I deeply admire the mission of the Obama Foundation and I am honored to be named its new Chief Financial Officer. I am looking forward to guiding its finances as it creates jobs, drives economic opportunities, empowers the leaders of tomorrow, and fosters meaningful change throughout our city. My goal is to create a strong financial and operating support system to take the great work already being done by the team and further strengthen it,” Rizki said. “This is a tremendous opportunity and I am thrilled to be joining this world-class team.

Rizki holds an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a B.Sc. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Contact: Courtney D. Williams, Obama Foundation, [email protected]