What got us to where we are today will not get us to our ultimate destination! Women are not only a key contributor but are also the next wave of change in all sectors.
Not to forget that even the month of March signifies the importance of women in this world.
So, to throw more light on it, we’ve compiled 10 examples of how women have excelled and shown their leadership skills in the finance sector and Fintech amid the pandemic, that we think are truly inspiring.
These examples of Women Leadership in Finance & Fintech are undoubtedly worth checking out.
Let’s take a look!
1. Building a Fortress In The Storm: CFO of JP Morgan
JP Morgan has been the best bank of 2020 that has proven itself to be a fortress in the storm. The bank witnessed a growth of 20% in the consumer deposits and about 25% growth in the firm-wide average deposits year after year since 2018 and even during the time of pandemic crisis, as reported by Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Piepszak. Partnering with Small Business Administration and lending them a lot of money has played a key role in generating business and thus coming up with a strong balance sheet.
2. Addressing Racial Inequality & Leveraging Digital Technology: President of Bank of America
https://www.privatebank.bankofamerica.com/articles/katy-knox-letter.html
Katy Knox, who is the President of Bank of America Private Bank, believes that no matter how carefully we have planned, we can’t predict how the future will unfold itself. With a motto of preparing for the uncertainty and rising to meet the challenges posed by unforeseen events, she announced a $1 billion, four-year initiative to accelerate work already underway to address racial inequality by helping to drive economic opportunity in communities of color. Taking the leverage of digital technology, the bank has been focusing on resources as their to-most priority and is providing safe and effective banking solutions to its clients.
3. Developing Resilience and Ability to Quickly Pivot: CEO and President of CIT Bank
http://www.leadersmag.com/issues/2020.4_Oct/New_York_Resilience/LEADERS-Ellen-Alemany-CIT-Group.html
Ellen Alemany, the Chairwoman, CEO, and President of CIT Bank in an interview says that their organization’s agility was tested during the days of the pandemic. She proudly says that the CIT team was able to quickly pivot the remote working model while maintaining seamless continuity in the business. Resilience has been the core of CIT’s culture, especially the bank’s headquarters in New York, and that has helped the organization to adapt and grow stronger in tough times.
4. Focusing on Crisis Management & Relationship Building: CEO of Verizon Business
http://www.leadersmag.com/issues/2021.1_Jan/Women_Leaders/LEADERS-Tami-Erwin-Verizon-Business.html
Tami Erwin, who is widely recognized for her strategic impact, marketing and operations focus, technical savvy, and passion for people, plays a crucial role in the evolution and growth of Verizon’s wireline and wireless business segments. As the CEO of Verizon Business, she feels proud to have led and been a part of multiple initiatives across Verizon Business to benefit small businesses, women, front-line workers, and first responders during the unprecedented time. She believes that it’s important to have women in the business industry as they are better suited to manage a crisis, they are more trusted, and exhibit stronger relational behaviors that help build and restore trust, and have an ability to reframe a problem to reduce emotional stress.
5. Focusing on Customer’s Needs Via Zoom: Co-Head of J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Nelle Miller, the Co-Head of J.P. Morgan Private Bank in New York, says that the bank has differentiated itself in the times of the pandemic by focusing on working with their clients in regard to what their goals are, what their family situation is, what type of wealth they have, and then providing advice that is tailored to their specific needs and situation. She believes that Zoom has been a valuable, convenient, and useful tool for our business, helping in building client relationships and trust, especially in certain areas where clients are looking for accessible and quick information.
6. Hiring People Smarter Than You: VP & Chief Legal Officer of Emigrant Bank
Maria Vullo, who is the Vice Chairman and Chief Legal Officer of New York Private Bank & Trust and its operating bank, Emigrant, says that during the unprecedented times of the pandemic, the bank embraced programs like PPP loans that helped the bank progress. She believes that leadership is having a vision and setting a positive example, making excellent, ethical decisions, and not shying away from difficult decisions. Being a true leader, she not only hires great people but is also not afraid of having smarter people working around her.
7. Building The Culture of Inclusion: chief strategist for diversity and inclusion and talent acquisition at Bank of America
Cynthia H. Bowman serves as the chief strategist for diversity and inclusion and talent acquisition globally for Bank of America. She believes that during this time of health and humanitarian crisis, companies have realized how important it is to have cultures of inclusion, no matter what differences people may have, and that employees are part of the fabric of their organization. She feels proud to be a part of the change and the company that is committed to doing more, both internally as well as externally, for the clients and communities the bank serves.
8. Making Prudent Decisions: CEO of Citi
https://www.citigroup.com/citi/investor/quarterly/2021/annual-report/
Jane Fraser, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Citi, the world’s most global bank, has been the first female CEO in the firm’s history. Her deep experience across Citi’s consumer and institutional businesses has helped shape Citi into the company it is today. She believes that prudent decisions made in the wake of the last crisis faced by the bank have proved their full value in this pandemic, resulting in $3.5 billion more in Net Income, an 11 bps higher Return on Assets and 160 bps higher Return on Tangible Common Equity than the bank had in 2012(the time of the crisis).
9. Making The Person-to-Person Contact The Cornerstone of Customer Service Strategy
Under the leadership of Abigail Johnson, Chairman, and CEO of Fidelity Investments, the company’s assets under management climbed 26% in 2019 to a record $3.2 trillion, which helped boost revenue to $20.9 billion and operating income to $6.9 billion. She believes that person-to-person contact needs to remain the cornerstone of Fidelity’s customer service strategy. With her commitment to getting more women involved in investing, Fidelity has started to make headway in expanding investment interest and financial literacy among women.
10. Supporting Female Leadership: co-founder of Flourish Ventures
https://www.fintechmagazine.com/venture-capital/investing-impact-woman-fintech
Emmalyn Shaw, the co-founder of Flourish Ventures, focuses solely on Fintech for financial investments. The primary reason behind having such a belief and interest is so because Fintech is a space with amazing female leadership, with women like Jo Ann Barefoot of Barefoot Innovation Group, Ellevest co-founder and CEO Sallie Krawcheck, and Kathryn Petralia, Co-Founder, and CEO of Kabbage. She also believes that deploying capital, commitment, and innovation can help prove that there are financial companies that are meaningful, scalable, and successful, in which people can make investments.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”14852″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]If you are a woman in the finance sector or fintech, you might be interested to check out this upcoming virtual event.
It is organized by Opal Group and is called Celebrating Women in Structured Finance & Fintech.
It takes place on April 27 and 28.
You can read more about the summit and register here: https://opalgroup.net/conference/women-in-structured-finance-summit-2021/
If you have any questions, you can email the Opal Group team at info@opalgroup.net.
Opal has an amazing team and would be more than happy to answer your questions or help you register for the event!
“Working through the Pandemic” panel on April 27th:
Along with these amazing women (Andrea (Andi) Mandell, Kate Cody, Eileen Ho, Alice Carpenter), I will be speaking at one of the panels.
We will be talking about:
-Challenges & adapting to the new ways t work in this environment
-Sourcing new deals
-Staying connected with clients
-Planning for future business opportunities