6 tech leaders on the Most Powerful Women in Banking list

October 15, 2024 3:18 PM

Six of American Banker's 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking have prominent roles in technology.

They range from C-suite positions to heads of technology. The gradual rise of women in this sector has been a long time coming. Maria Gotsch, president and CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City, co-founded the FinTech Innovation Lab accelerator in 2010, where she connects startups with executives at large financial institutions. She has seen the role of women change in that time.

"We have far more women around the table than we did 15 years ago," she said.

There are several reasons for that, said Gotsch, who was named one of American Banker's most influential women in fintech in 2023. One is "an acknowledgement that there was a problem," she said. Another is a broader push to diversify recruitment. The growth of the technology sector more generally has meant a larger pool of experts for banks to tap into. Some women ascend the ranks in bank technology when a company they founded gets acquired by a financial institution, meaning "It's no longer that you just send your resume in," she said.

Here is a spotlight on six Most Powerful Women in Banking honorees making significant strides in bank technology.

Global chief information officer at the country's largest bank

Lori Beer, the global chief information officer at JPMorgan Chase, is the megabank's first female CIO and the first female technology leader on Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon's operating committee. She has spent seven years in that role, managing JPMorgan Chase's global technology systems and infrastructure on a $17 billion budget and with 63,000 employees.

Lately, Beer has explored the potential of generative artificial intelligence. JPMorgan Chase has more than 400 AI use cases in production.

"The productivity of this organization today is by far higher than it was several years ago, optimizing the infrastructure that we use and reducing costs," Beer said.

Beer spearheaded a hiring program called Autism at Work that recruits neurodiverse talent around the world. She has also endowed scholarships at the University of Cincinnati and University of Dayton to help increase diversity in STEM careers, and increased the bank's investment in programs focused on helping women and girls build successful STEM careers, such as Girls Who Code.

Leading digital transformation at Wells Fargo

Tracy Kerrins is head of consumer technology and generative AI at Wells Fargo. More specifically, she has enhanced Fargo, the bank's AI-powered virtual assistant; invested in four new data centers; and used AI to automate portions of software development.

Kerrins has also invested in her employees by increasing the frequency of employee recognition among her global team.

Kerrins promotes women in technology outside the bank as well. She serves on the board of directors for the National Center for Women in Technology (NCWIT), which aims to ensure that the perspectives and contributions of women are meaningfully represented at all levels of computing. In 2023, she helped arrange funding from Wells Fargo that allowed the NCWIT to launch a new media hub.

PNC head of technology takes on cybercrime

Deborah Guild became head of technology for PNC Bank in July; she reports to the bank's CEO Bill Demchak. She is now responsible for all aspects of enterprise and business technology and security.

One of her accomplishments over the past year was forging partnerships with government agencies and mobile carriers Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to devise solutions for thwarting cyberattacks that come by way of deceptive emails, phone calls, texts and fake websites for bank customers. She sits on the board of the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council, a nonprofit that works with government agencies and financial regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies to tackle overarching cybersecurity issues.

Guild has also promoted technology careers for women on her own staff. Nearly half of her leadership team are women. She is also a board member for the National Center for Women & Information Technology.

KeyBank’s CIO of 12 years touts agility

Amy Brady's tenure as chief information officer, where she oversees all of Key's shared services for technology, operations, servicing, cyber and physical security, and corporate real estate solutions, has spanned more than a decade. Recently, she has turned to generative AI as a way to make branch operations more efficient. For example, KeyBank is testing a generative AI tool dubbed KeyPro that would help employees in branches and customer contact centers respond to customers who have questions outside the norm, such as the requirements for adding power of attorney to an account. Instead of calling someone for help, they will be able to query the tool. Key has also established a cross-functional group to advance generative AI.

Brady has also reacted quickly to disruptive events in the financial services world. The bank runs of early 2023 inspired her to reach across other lines of business at the bank to generate reports that afforded a real-time look at money flowing in and out. The technology team also moved quickly to streamline processes for accepting new accounts coming into the bank in the wake of the crisis. The end result was a growth in deposits for Key of about $3 billion.

Brady was appointed by Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted to serve on the InnovateOhio Advisory Board. She also serves as an executive committee member of the Bank Policy Institute's Technology Division (BITS).

Zions' chief of technology and operations has overseen massive transformations

Jennifer Smith, the chief technology and operations officer at Zions Bancorporation for the past nine years, oversees cybersecurity, deposit and payment operations, commercial and consumer loan operations, and more at the super regional bank. One of the biggest projects under her purview was Zions' decade-plus core transformation, which was completed this past summer.

Smith anticipates delivery of products will be 20% faster. Bankers "will have more information at their fingertips about their customer without having to dig into multiple different systems," she said.

Smith has also overseen the completion of a 400,000-square-foot corporate campus in Midvale, Utah, devoted to technology.

Outside the bank, Smith is an active member of Utah's women and technology community, where she speaks to audiences on the importance of female leadership in technology, sponsoring community events on women in STEM, and serving as judge for the last five years recognizing the most prestigious women in technology across the state of Utah for the Women Tech Council awards.

First-ever chief data and analytics officer at JPMorgan Chase

In 2023, JPMorgan Chase installed Teresa Heitsenrether in its newly created role of chief data and analytics officer. She manages the bank's new data and analytics unit and strategizes its use of AI. She reports to Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon and President and Chief Operating Officer Daniel Pinto.

It was a new world for Heitsenrether, who previously worked in corporate and investment banking at JPMorgan Chase. But during her short time in this position, Heitsenrether has rolled out AI tools and training to nearly 100,000 employees and more than two dozen large language model use cases. She works with all lines of business at the bank to identify and prioritize AI use cases to deploy.

"I was excited by the opportunity to take on something that is so strategically important for the firm," Heitsenrether said. "While it's always a little daunting to take on a big new job, it's also energizing at this point in my career to be at the center of such a transformational phase of AI evolution."