Brandywine Alumni Spotlight: Veronica McKee, class of 2003

MEDIA, Pa. — Twenty years after completing her bachelor’s degree at Penn State Brandywine, Veronica McKee, class of 2003, broke the glass ceiling so prevalent in the finance industry and secured a spot in the C-suite of a prominent wealth management firm.

McKee began her Penn State journey at Brandywine in 2000, majoring in business and minoring in marketing, more than 10 years after graduating high school. Despite being a nontraditional student in this way, she was involved in multiple organizations across campus, including the Student Business Council and the Adult Student Association. She also worked full-time at Pilot Air Freight during her time at Brandywine.

“I was definitely very active in college,” McKee said. “Even though I was already working, I believe the more active you are, the more you get out of your college experience.”

McKee said that Penn State’s high-quality education was her favorite part of her college experience.

“When I look back at how well it helped set me up for my future, I feel like that was the best part of it,” she recalled. “It was not only the excellent professors and lessons, but it was housed on a beautiful, local campus that was so close to home.”

Upon graduating from Brandywine, McKee continued to work at Pilot Air Freight as a marketing and events manager. In 2006, she left to work for the Haverford Trust Company as the director of marketing. She stayed there until 2012, and worked a few more marketing jobs that advanced her in title and responsibilities along the way before being asked to return to the Haverford Trust Company in 2019, where she became the vice president of marketing. In 2021, she became the chief marketing officer.

“What attracted me to work for Haverford Trust was its solid reputation,” McKee said. “When I was doing research on the company before my first interview, I uncovered the great things about their brand and where I could see myself adding value. I knew it was going to be a good, challenging work environment and I could make a positive impact.

“The former chief marketing officer was spectacular. I learned so much from him; it was like a second education," added McKee. "After I left in 2012, I kept in touch with him and others at Haverford Trust because everyone there is just wonderful. When he was talking about retiring, the leadership team reached out to me and asked if I would come back. I couldn’t turn that opportunity down.”

As chief marketing officer, McKee works on branding and messaging, guiding the creation and placement of collateral, advertising and communications, producing events and managing the marketing strategy and budget. She is a member of Haverford Trust’s five-person executive committee alongside other members of the C-suite to ensure clients’ needs align with corporate strategy; she is in charge of Haverford Cares, an initiative centered around community engagement; and she is the executive advisor for Team DEI, a council that promotes diversity and inclusion. She is also a part of the sustainability council and leadership committee.

During her time at Haverford Trust, McKee’s favorite project has been putting together its first podcast, called “Speaking of Quality,” intending to reach the next generation of investors. She helped create its concept, determine what platforms to use, how to market it, identify guests and write scripts.

Recently, McKee received professional recognition in the Philadelphia Business Journal for her appointment to Haverford Trust’s executive committee. She commented on her experience being a woman in the C-suite in the finance industry.

“It’s not a small feat being a woman in the C-suite, especially in finance. I’ve recently read that only 32% of chief marketing officers are female,” McKee said. “So many women charted the path before me. They blazed the trail that I was able to follow. Even still, I hit roadblocks because of my gender throughout my career. If I can take down those roadblocks so that nobody else encounters them, that is what I’m going to do.”

When asked what advice she would give to current Brandywine students, McKee said they should explore the field they think they want to go into to gain experience and exposure.

“Take internships and volunteer in the industry you want to go into,” she said. “If you’re studying science, volunteer to work in the lab. If you’re in marketing, volunteer to run a social media account for a nonprofit or create a podcast. Getting that exposure is so important to make sure you end up getting a job in the field you aspire to.”