The Most Powerful Women to Watch 2024

September 26, 2024 6:30 AM

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

The women on this year's list lead banks, spearhead diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, help clients invest, and prevent cyberattacks and fraud.

At the top of this year's list is Hope Holding Bryant, vice chair of First Citizens. After Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March 2023 amid a broader banking crisis, Bryant played a key role in First Citizen's acquisition of SVB.

The acquisition helped First Citizens become the 15th-largest bank in the U.S. It was recently recognized by American Banker as the top-performing U.S. bank with at least $50 billion of assets.

Learn more about how Bryant helped propel First Citizens ascent and how our other Watch honorees helped their institutions succeed during an oftentimes challenging year.

Also check out:

The Most Powerful Women in Banking

The Most Powerful Women in Finance

Top Teams (To be released on Oct. 1.)

Hope Holding Bryant

Vice Chair
First Citizens

After Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March 2023 amid a broader banking crisis, First Citizens swooped in to acquire it.

The acquisition helped First Citizens become the 15th-largest bank in the U.S. It was recently recognized by American Banker as the top-performing U.S. bank with at least $50 billion of assets.

First Citizens Vice Chair Hope Holding Bryant played a key role in SVB's acquisition and integration, all while reassuring clients and depositors during a turbulent time.

Learn more about how Bryant helped First Citizens with the SVB acquisition.

Melissa Stevens

Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Corporate Communications and Enterprise Workplace Services
Fifth Third Bank

Melissa Stevens is moving colleagues and customers to digital banking, but she is also growing Fifth Third Bank in a more traditional way: Increasing the number of physical branches.

Stevens' expansive role at the Cincinnati-based lender includes head of enterprise workplace services, which puts her in charge of Fifth Third's properties. Between 2019 and 2023, Fifth Third opened 107 new branches in the Southeastern states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, according to the bank.

Learn more about Stevens' plans for branch expansion and digital marketing.

Florence Pourchet

CEO of Corporate and Institutional Banking, Latin America
BNP Paribas

"I was raised in a family where you needed to earn what you had," said Pourchet, head of corporate and institutional banking, Latin America, at BNP Paribas, where she leads 980 employees and helps manage nearly $2.6 trillion of client assets. "You need to persevere and you need to be very thankful."

Pourchet later emigrated to New York, with a husband and three children in tow, to become head of commodity structured debt in Latin America at BNP Paribas.

Learn more about how Pourchet's upbringing influenced her career.

Meghan Graper

Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Debt Capital Markets
Barclays

Meghan Graper had planned to be a documentary filmmaker before a summer internship opened her eyes to the creativity of finance work.

Graper was in college when she took the internship at Lehman Brothers that changed her mind about finance and her career.

"I took advanced math classes and whatnot all the way starting in high school, but I didn't really see the creative approach to it until I got to Lehman, and the people I met there and the minds I met there were enough to compel me to stick with it. And here I am," she said.

Learn more about Graper's career trajectory.

Barbara Mariniello

Global Co-Head of Debt Capital Markets
Barclays

Over the past year, world events including the ongoing strife between Russia and Ukraine and daily dispatches from the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East have increasingly shaped the investment bank's debt offerings and bond issuance. But even in this chaotic environment shaped by "geo-political unrest, market-moving elections, and central bank pivots," Barbara Mariniello, global co-head of debt capital markets at Barclays, noted that it is "more important than ever to be level-headed, and not overreact to short-term market moves."

Discover how Mariniello navigates a volatile debt capital market.

Lori Heinel

Global Chief Investment Officer
State Street Global Advisors

For Lori Heinel, helping women in the workplace requires more than just chatting over lunch.

"If you're going to mentor women, you have to be willing to stand up for them, advocate for them and not let the narrative around their behaviors override their capabilities and their expertise," she said.

See more about Heinel's advice to women in the industry.

Ann Fogarty

Executive Vice President and Head of Global Delivery
State Street

Ann Fogarty, executive vice president and head of global delivery at State Street, often feels like she needs to be an ambassador for the work of finance operations.

"Over the years— cannot explain why—in our industry the role of operations has become a little bit diminished," said Fogarty, who oversees State Street's operations and its asset servicing portfolio, which has $41.8 trillion in assets under custody and administration.

Learn more about Fogarty's role in shaping State Street's operations.

Cassandra McKinney

Executive Vice President and Executive Director of the Retail Bank
Comerica Bank

Cassandra McKinney has proclaimed one of her tenets for career success on her license plate for more than 20 years: WRK2PLY.

"Work hard; play hard," said McKinney, who leads personal and small business banking for Dallas-based Comerica Bank. "I do believe in living by that because I give my all at work. But when it's time to rest, to re-energize, to spend time with family, to invest in myself and my development, I work just as hard at that as well," she said.

Learn how McKinney revamped bank's lineup of digital products and services for small businesses.

Liz Wolverton

Head of Consumer Banking and Brand Experience
Synovus

"It's been a really challenging year," said Liz Wolverton, the head of consumer banking at Synovus Financial, who ticked off pressing obstacles that include high interest rates and rival financial institutions with more resources to invest in technology.

Wolverton is in her third year leading consumer banking and brand experience at the Columbus, Georgia, bank. The $60 billion-asset Synovus is Georgia's largest bank.

See more about how Wolverton helped Synovus' customers during a challenging year.

Debbra Schoneman

President
Piper Sandler

Debbra Schoneman's career is all about learning lessons.

As president of Piper Sandler, she experienced a significant leadership transition when Frank Fairman stepped down as head of public finance in August 2023 after a 40-year career with the investment bank. His departure led to several epiphanies while Schoneman interviewed internal and external candidates for his position.

Learn more about what Schoneman looks for in a leader.

Krista Snelling

President and CEO
Santa Cruz County Bank

As Krista Snelling entered her fourth year as president and CEO of Santa Cruz County Bank in Santa Cruz, California, the bank was on an even keel.

Snelling had joined the bank in March 2021 from Five Star Bank in Sacramento, California, where she had been chief financial officer for five years. She proceeded to build an executive team that combined local people and bankers from outside the Santa Cruz market, while making herself a fixture at area events.

See more about Snelling's strategies for growing the bank.

Bonnie Lee

President and CEO
Hanmi Financial Corp.

As the president and CEO of Hanmi Financial Corp. in Los Angeles, California, Bonnie Lee is one of just eleven female CEOs of publicly traded financial institutions.

Since becoming CEO in 2019, she has grown Hanmi's total assets from $5.5 billion to $7.6 billion, an increase of 36%. She did this, she said, by strengthening the bank's balance sheet; diversifying its loan portfolio, which was concentrated in commercial real estate when she took the helm; expanding its products and services; and closing some branches and opening others, especially as the bank expanded into Texas, Illinois, and the eastern U.S.

See more about Lee's career trajectory.

Christina Mohr

Vice Chair of M&A and Investment Banking
Citigroup

Christina Mohr is confident that her team can excel at a restructured Citigroup.

"What they're calling simplification at Citi is really about putting clients at the center of what we do," said Mohr, the New York company's vice chair of M&A and investment banking. In other words, Citi is focused on what has always guided her career: "To serve clients intensively."

Learn more about how Mohr is positioning her team to succeed in a restructured Citi.

Laurie Stewart

President and CEO
Sound Community Bank

As the Covid-19 pandemic waned, leaders at Sound Community Bank did not want to force employees back into the office, even if just a few days a week. But they did not want to lose what they feel is the Seattle bank's unique culture.

In seeking a solution, Sound President and CEO Laura Lee "Laurie" Stewart drew inspiration from the bank's self-image as a pod, a term for a female-led group of orca whales.

See more about how Stewart built the company's post-pandemic culture.

Kim Posnett

Head of Global Technology, Media and Telecom in Investment Banking
Goldman Sachs

When Kim Posnett was named head of global technology, media and telecom at Goldman Sachs in May 2023, it was the culmination of a career focused on the intersection of technology and investment banking.

Since her appointment, Posnett has sought to quell geopolitical concerns among clients, while focusing internally on the promise of generative artificial intelligence.

Tech, media and telecom is, along with commercial real estate, Goldman's largest service industry as determined by measurements like loans or equities security volume.

Learn about how Posnett is championing the use of A.I. at Goldman.

Jeane Vidoni

President and CEO
Penn Community Bank

As the head of a mutual savings bank in a highly competitive market, Jeane Vidoni balances growing her business with giving back to the southeastern Pennsylvania community.

Penn Community Bank in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, was created in 2015 with the merger of two banks, and Vidoni was CEO from the start. Forty miles north of Philadelphia, the mutual resides in an area in which Revolutionary War tourism sites help drive the local economy.

Hear her speak at The Most Powerful Women in Banking Conference in New York City, October 22-23.

Penn Community's assets have climbed sharply during its existence, from $1.8 billion after the merger to $2.9 billion last year, a leap due to pursuing strategies similar to a commercial bank, Vidoni said. These include adding salespeople from publicly-traded banks and collaborating with national lenders on economic development projects.

Learn more about how Vidoni is guiding growth at the bank.

Kristy Fercho

Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion
Well Fargo

When the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action for college admissions last year, some companies pulled back from their DEI commitments. Wells Fargo did not, said Kristy Fercho, senior executive vice president and head of diverse segments, representation and inclusion at the bank.

While Wells Fargo's lawyers confirmed that the bank's diversity, equity and inclusion programs were still legally compliant, the bank also made it clear that the court decision would not affect its commitment to increase diverse representation in the company to better serve its diverse customer segments, said Fercho

See more about Fercho's and Wells' commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Julieann Thurlow

CEO
Reading Cooperative Bank

Julieann Thurlow is a bank CEO and the current chairman of the American Bankers Association. But she is still surprised when people she meets at conferences know who she is.

"I underestimated the message that being a woman and being chair of the American Bankers Association says to others in the industry as to what opportunity exists at the top of their organization," said Thurlow.

One message she is spreading during her tenure as ABA chairman, which ends in October, is the importance of serving niche groups in a bank's community.

See how Thurlow and Reading connected with local Hispanic communities.

Lisa Oliver

Chair of the Board, President and CEO
The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod

Being settled in her role at The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, Lisa Oliver can use her position to support her true passion: giving back to her community.

Oliver left KeyBank, the 25th-largest bank in the United States, in 2017 to be president and chief executive officer at the regional Cape Cod bank, known as "The Coop."

Growing up in New York's Hudson Valley, Oliver's family frequently vacationed on Cape Cod and neighboring Nantucket. Now that she lives on Cape Cod, however, she's learned that areas like these are more than vacation spots.

See how Oliver and the bank is bolstering the community in Cape Cod.

Kimberly Moore-Wright

Chief Teammate Officer and Head of Enterprise Diversity
Truist

When Truist undertook high-profile job cuts in fall 2023, some executives worried about the negative feedback they might hear on employee surveys.

Kimberly Moore-Wright did not share their qualms. As the bank's chief teammate officer, she reassured other executives that the $520 billion-asset bank needed to keep listening; that way, executives would learn things they needed to know.

See how Moore-Wright helped employees and executives navigate job losses at the bank.

Beatriz Castellví

Executive Vice President and Chief Security Officer
Popular

The top priority for Popular's customers is "trust," said Beatriz "Betina" Castellví.

In her role as executive vice president and chief security officer, Castellví ensures that the San Juan, Puerto Rico, company builds and maintains this trust by preventing cybercrime, fraud, and data privacy violations against the bank and its customers.

Popular operates Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and the New York-chartered Popular Bank. Besides the territory and state, the $72.8 billion-asset Popular also has branches in New Jersey, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.

Learn more about how Castellví protects the bank against cybercrime and fraud.

Wendy Cai-Lee

Founder and CEO
Piermont Bank

It started with conversations that Wendy Cai-Lee described as "free therapy sessions" with Jennifer Docherty, a friend who is general counsel at Performance Trust Capital Partners, an advisory firm that focuses on banks.

At Docherty's suggestion, they started inviting more women leaders to participate. Over the last 18 months, the sessions have grown into a circle of roughly 20 female bank executives in the New York area.

Learn more about how Cai-Lee supports women in the industry.

Zewditu Tizu Menelik

Executive Vice President, Executive Managing Director, Corporate, Specialty and Government Banking
Huntington National Bank

Zewditu Tizu Menelik has spent her career in the center of some of the banking industry's biggest recent challenges. Now as many banks retrench, Menelik is making a different bet, growing and restructuring Huntington Bancshares' corporate, specialty and government banking segment.

Menelik was tapped to lead corporate, specialty and government banking at Huntington in October 2022, coming over from Fifth Third where she was the group head of diversified industries and international corporate banking. At Huntington, she has recruited away a specialized mortgage solutions team from Flagstar Bank, added financial services focused on federally recognized Native American tribes, and started a national deposits group.

Learn more about Menelik's work to beef up the divisions she leads.

Maria Tedesco

President and Chief Operating Officer
Atlantic Union Bank

Maria Tedesco, president and chief operating officer at Atlantic Union Bank, does far more than what her titles imply.

Tedesco's staff refers to her as "Guardian of Growth and Supporter to All" — indicating her far reach at the Richmond, Virginia, bank.

Along with a team of 1,840 employees, she leads all the bank's revenue businesses, including consumer, business and wholesale banking, wealth management and home loans, as well as support functions like enterprise technology, operations and marketing.

Learn more about Tedesco's leadership at the bank.

Cristin Reid

Chairman and CEO
Capitol National Bank

Cristin Reid, chairman and CEO of Capitol National Bank, knows the challenges that small community banks can face. Banks like Capitol National, which has less than $200 million in assets, can struggle if they lose just a handful of client relationships.

Hear her speak at The Most Powerful Women in Banking Conference in New York City, October 22-23.

As rising interest rates began to put pressure on banks to attract and retain deposits, the Lansing, Michigan, bank's team knew it needed to focus on balance sheet liabilities, including client deposits.

With this in mind, the team implemented a rate-structuring program to meet customers' unique needs through strategies such as individual deposit terms and laddering. The goal was to benefit both customers and the bank.

Learn more about Reid's leadership at the community bank.