CYNTHIA DIBARTOLO, ESQ. is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tigress Financial Partners. She guides the overall strategy and direction of the firm where she has parlayed her extensive corporate and securities experience into a new generation of financial services firms.

In her professional life, she has 35 years of accomplishment-laden practice working in finance. She spent more than two decades aligned with Fortune 500 companies, driving achievements in revenue growth, brand expansion and new offerings. Her ability to set the overall vision and strategy for a company propelled her career at Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bear Stearns. Her impressive track record in sales, compliance and risk management contributed significantly to the firms’ profitability. Beginning her career as an institutional credit analyst with Bear Stearns, then as an attorney on Wall Street with Merrill Lynch, Cynthia developed excellent analytical and problem-solving skills and segued into the role of a Compliance Director at Smith Barney.

Cynthia earned a coveted position in management within the Private Client Group at Smith Barney. Upon the integration of Smith Barney and Citicorp, she transitioned to the bank platform where she surpassed her margin goals with double-digit returns by taking her sales force “beyond the transactional cross-sell” and instilling a holistic approach to financial planning. 

Cynthia is also credited as the visionary leader behind a joint venture plan between Smith Barney and Citicorp Investment Services to develop offerings for the Mass Affluent market segment. She then had the opportunity to cross back into Risk Management for Citibank and leverage her business, regulatory and legal knowledge.

In 2009, Cynthia became severely and permanently disabled, after battling head and neck cancer, precluding her from continuing in her esteemed corporate career.  In 2011, she founded Tigress Financial Partners, the nations first and only disabled and woman-owned financial services firm.  Tigress is a fully licensed investment bank, broker dealer and registered investment advisor dedicated to the principles of diversity and inclusion and providing a supportive platform for talented disabled financial services professionals. Tigress offers Proprietary Research, Investment Banking, Sales & Trading, Capital Markets, Asset Management and Wealth Management services.

Cynthia was profiled by Forbes in their CEO Series in an article entitled “A Tigress in a Shark Tank”. Forbes described Cynthia as "one tenacious Tigress…her father’s words inspired her to pick herself up from tragedy and to launch the nation's only disabled and woman-owned financial services firm. Both the woman and her story are unique, amazing and forcefully inspiring."

Cynthia is a recognized voice with respect to advancing equality of opportunity in the financial services sector. She serves as Chairperson of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Steering Committee for Financial Services, under the appointment of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. She is the Founder & Chairperson of the Diversity Broker-Dealer & Asset Management Coalition, an advocacy and thought leadership group that strives for best practices in diversity and inclusion on behalf of all certified Minority,Veteran and Woman Broker-Dealers & Asset Managers. She serves as Chairperson of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, an organization that provides valuable services to over 30,000 business and civic leaders who represent the backbone of the Greater New York business community. She was selected to the Executive Task Force for The Wall Street Journal: Women in the Economy, a select group of 200 influential CEOs, luminaries and subject-matter experts, chosen to create a business-based, action plan to address making better use of female talent to promote economic growth. She is currently Vice President of the Women's Syndicate Association.

Cynthia was a Business Leader to the White House Business Council for the Obama Administration. For the past several years, she shared the panel at the Comptrollers Summit with along with New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, and New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer to discuss advancing diversity and inclusion in financial services.  Cynthia served as a Business Leader for Governor Cuomo’s Ten Points-Women’s Initiative, which aims to break down barriers to women's full participation in society and create a positive and sustainable meritocracy in business.

She served as the leading business advocate for the NYC and NYS Minimum Wage Increase speaking before the Governor and members of the Senate, as well as, the Mayor of New York City. As part of her mission, Cynthia provided Testimony to the Independent Democratic Conference of New York State on the issue of Campaign Finance Reform.

Cynthia has written numerous op-ed articles that have been published in the NY TIMES, NY Times Digest and TIMES UNION on “Campaign Finance Reform”, “Providing Access to Capital for Small Business", “Increasing Minimum Wage” “Pregnant Workers Fairness Act” and “Women’s Equality”. Cynthia testified before House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Representative Carolyn Maloney on Paid Family Medical Insurance Leave. She participated along with Senator Kristen Gillibrand in the Women’s Economic Empowerment Summit. Cynthia provided testimony before a Congressional Briefing hosted by Senator Robert Casey, Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Congressman Jerry Nadler on Making Pregnancy Discrimination a Thing of the Past: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act at 35 & the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, as well as, providing testimony to the Independent Democratic Conference of the New York State Senate Hearing on “Restoring the Voters’ Trust in New York State Government”. She was also selected to serve on the Small Business Majority Summit at the White House. Cynthia also testified at the White House on Campaign Finance Reform before the White House Office of Public Engagement and participated in the White House Leadership Summit along with Valarie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Ambassador Robert Holleyman, Deputy United States Trade Representative with respect to International Trade Policy.

She was former Counsel to Eaton & Van Winkle, LLP and is currently on the Board of Consultors for Villanova University, Charles Widger School of Law. In 1980, Cynthia was named a Congressional Nominee to West Point Military Academy. She attended Wagner College where she was given an Academic Scholarship, graduating with Honors with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Theatre and went on to earn a Juris Doctorate from Villanova University, School of Law. She holds FINRA Series SIE, 7, 24, 63 and 99. She was admitted to the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut State Bars.