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11 Women Who Are Changing The Face Of Finance

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The face of finance is changing. Now, more women are emerging as powerful movers and shakers in the finance industry, potentially taking the “old boys’ club” out of the arena once and for all.

Yet, in Mercer’s report, “When Women Thrive, Businesses Thrive,” key findings reveal there is still a way to go before female finance executives grow in rank. According to the firm’s global research, women only make up 20 percent at the executive level and only 35 percent at the professional level and above.  

Yet, there are female finance executives like the ones listed here who are setting the standard for how the finance industry will look in the near future.  

Sallie Krawcheck

CEO and Co-Founder, Ellevest

Sallie’s approach to gaining a leadership position in finance was to start a company that has focused on educating and empowering women to achieve their financial and professional goals. Ellevest provides assistance with online investing, retirement, and private wealth strategies. In illustrating her understanding of what it takes to provide such assistance, Sallie has put together a diverse team that includes talent from finance, engineering, and product development. She has built this new company on her success as CEO for other financial firms, including Merrill Lynch, Citi Private, and Smith Barney.

Jolen Anderson

Senior Vice President, HR, and Chief Diversity Officer, Visa

Since joining Visa in 2005, Jolen has worked to expand the company’s business outlook, including creating the diversity leadership role she now holds. She started her career in the legal field, practicing law at a law firm in Chicago. In this role, she focused on labor and employment issues before moving on to become Associate General Counsel, Employment for Visa’s global HR team. Jolen’s current focus is on identifying ways to include women and people of color in strategic roles within this giant global financial enterprise in the hopes of changing the financial environment from the inside-out.

Alissa Pemberton

Vice President, Head of Digital Marketing, Group1001

In her present role with Group1001, which is an organization driven to make insurance and retirement products more useful and accessible for all types of people, Alissa leverages her previous experience in financial startups and multinational companies to raise the bar on a human-centered approach to digital marketing within the finance landscape.

Margaret Keane

President & CEO, Synchrony

Margaret has served in her present retail finance leadership role with Synchrony since 2014 after previously serving as a board member since 2013 and as the CEO and President of GE Capital’s North American retail finance business. Her position has provided her with the opportunity to assist and mentor more women to enter the finance industry and achieve leadership positions.

Abigail Johnson

Chairman & CEO, FMR LLC

In heading up the parent company of Fidelity Investments, Abigail proves that a woman can successfully oversee a global financial company that includes numerous products, locations, diversified subsidiaries, and audiences. She has been serving in this role since 2013 when she became president and then moved into the CEO role in 2014 followed by Chairman in 2016. Abigail has worked for the company since 1988, handling numerous roles that have included serving as President for Fidelity’s retail, workplace, and institutional business segments.

Candace Browning

Head of Global Research, BofA Merrill Lynch, Research Division

In her current role for BofA Merrill Lynch and its research division, Candace has built a career of collecting and disseminating financial information, including finance trends and industry trends, from around the world. In her current role, she oversees more than 600 research professionals, shaping how they approach support for the firm’s institutional sales and trading teams. Over the last few years, she has been named by American Banker as one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance. Candace is focused on helping other women reach leadership positions in the finance industry, believing they have the power to be the game changing factor. That’s why she also participates in The Global Ambassadors program, which matches executives with younger professionals to mentor them and shape their professional development.

Laurel Taylor

Founder & CEO, FutureFuel

Laurel represents the potential of many young women to drive innovative solutions and launch successful fintech solutions to address today’s finance issues. Her company, FutureFuel, provides a way to reduce student through partnerships with the private sector. Before starting her own company, Laurel previously worked within Google’s Global Business unit in its Large Customer Sales division where she was able to guide the team on exceeding the company’s eight-figure revenue target.

Mary Callahan Erdoes

CEO, Asset and Wealth Management, JPMorgan Chase

Named as the most powerful women in finance on American Banker’s 2018 list of female finance executives, Mary has been a driving force in JPMorgan and its division’s ability to rapidly grow its assets into the trillions of dollars. Not afraid of approaching tough international markets, she entered China when the bank receives its license to operate as a wholly-owned asset management firm in Shanghai.

Rebecca Liebman

Co-Founder and CEO, LearnLux

As a millennial, Rebecca serves as a model for women of all ages, proving that age and gender are not factors for success in the finance industry. What matters is the ability to identify and solve a real-world problem like she has done with her company, LearnLux, which offers a portfolio of personal finance tools designed to educate and raise financial well-being. It’s also Rebecca’s global perspective from living in countries like Kenya and studying finance in other parts of the world that have made her a real asset to the finance industry.

Michelle Spellerberg

Vice President, Digital Strategy & Innovation Growth, Alliant Credit Union

Michelle leads Alliant Credit Union’s digital banking applications, marketing strategy, and partner relationship management. Previously, she served as Vice President of Marketing & Digital Strategy for the company, leveraging data-driven strategies to rapidly increase member and customer acquisition as well as grow lead generation and product reach.  Additionally, she has successfully developed Alliant’s online banking presence in her previous role as Vice President of Digital Channels.   

Nicole Zimmermann

Head of Customer & Marketing Global Payments, Western Union

Nicole has spent nearly 12 years with Western Union, moving steadily up the ranks and gaining significant finance expertise and knowledge along the way. Before taking on her current role, she has also served as Vice President, The WU Way, which has been implementing radical cultural change within this financial enterprise; Vice President, Transformation Office, which has driven the expansion of Western Union’s thought leadership presence in the finance industry; and Vice President, Global Marketing Strategy & Customer Relationship Management where she further developed her understanding of the international finance environment.