Anita Knotts
Financial Market Gender Disrupter
Anita Knotts is a highly accomplished senior executive with nearly 30 years of expertise in sales, marketing, and business development in the competitive wealth management market. After spending the first part of her career as a successful investment advisor followed by years of leadership, Anita is now embarking on the next phase of her career as an entrepreneur.
Anita has recently launched her new business Lotus Women’s Institute LLC. The mission of the organization is to attract, develop and advance women and people of color to choose financial services as a career path. She believes strongly that firms who implement initiatives to hire diverse teams - specifically for frontline roles - will have a competitive edge.
In 2019 she was recognized by Investment News as a “See It, Be It Role Model” for diversity and inclusion as part of their annual Diversity & Inclusions Awards program. Her recognition was well-deserved, as her passion to educate, encourage and empower women to take a larger role in their financial lives drove the launch of the successful Women & Wealth initiative during her time in Corporate America. Anita also formed the Women’s Initiative Network (WIN); a forum for women to regularly meet and openly discuss topics pertaining to professional development and personal work/life balance. She is a frequent contributor and presenter on the topics of women and wealth and also led the Chicago Western Suburbs Chapter of Ellevate, a global professional women’s network with a mission to close the gender-based achievement gap in business by providing women with a community to learn from and lean on.