25 Women to Watch: 11-15

11. Diana Starcher

Group EVP, Wells Fargo Customer Connection

Supporting multiple lines of business at Wells Fargo, and doing plenty of selling of its own, the customer contact organization led by Diana Starcher handles more than 500 million customer engagements each year, over phone lines, email and old-fashioned mail correspondence. A 29-year veteran of Wells, Starcher has realigned a once-disparate call center network and managed the integration of Wachovia's service efforts with skill and grace. Her focus now: the continued implementation of technology and productivity upgrades.

"Stay connected with your teams. Particularly in times of change when there is uncertainty, it's important to understand how people are feeling and their concerns to provide support and information."

12. Barb Godin

Chief Credit Officer, Regions Financial

Since her promotion to chief credit officer last August, Barb Godin has been on a mission to help reengineer the risk-management culture at Regions. Problem loans are being identified earlier, a social responsibility credit officer has been put in place to ensure equitable treatment across all lending products, and commercial underwriting has been instilled with new discipline, using the type of centralized processes more commonly associated with consumer lending. That's the side of the business Godin grew up in, at Scotiabank and elsewhere, before landing at Regions in 2003 as a consumer credit executive.

"Create a culture that rewards people for addressing problems swiftly. In this business, and in life, we can’t control all the variables. What we can do is put ourselves in the best position possible to manage the risks."

13. Michelle Van Dyke

Regional President, Fifth Third Bank

Just like Fifth Third CEO Kevin Kabat, Michelle Van Dyke came to the Cincinnati-based bank via its acquisition of Old Kent Financial. And just like Kabat, she spent time as president of Fifth Third Bank in western Michigan. Now she oversees Fifth Third affiliates in five regions, with aggressive targets for many of them—including a plan to double assets and revenue in the St. Louis market by 2013. She's also a force in talent development. In June 2010 she launched a regional leadership program, and 40 exports from her region were placed in senior roles across the company in the past year.

"It is easy to cancel a meeting with a protégé when there are other, pressing priorities. Resist easy. Take care of the urgent and ensure that you’re spending time developing the people around you."

14. Diana Reid

EVP and Head of Real Estate, PNC Financial Services Group

In addition to heading the real estate segment of PNC's corporate and institutional banking division, Diana Reid serves on PNC's management, corporate credit risk and reserve adequacy committees, and its corporate diversity council. Before PNC, Reid was a founding partner of the boutique advisory firm Beekman Advisors, and previously worked at Credit Suisse. "In the span of four short years," PNC Senior Vice Chairman William Demchak says, "she has proven to be an invaluable component of our organization."

"Regularly take the opportunity to recognize yourself and your colleagues for jobs well done. But be diligent in addressing how you and your team might have contributed to an improved process or exceeded the results."

15. Mary Tuuk

Chief Risk Officer, Fifth Third Bancorp

The highest-ranking woman at Fifth Third, Mary Tuuk was miles ahead of her peers with her aggressive approach to credit problems from the start of the financial crisis. The upside to this strategy is finally shining through. Net income over the last 12 months was up 52 percent from a year earlier. Chargeoffs have plummeted, and the company exited TARP in early 2011.

"Take time for yourself to get personally renewed, and do it often. Balance is a smart business strategy."

•25 Women to Watch 1-5
•25 Women to Watch 6-10
•25 Women to Watch 16-20
•25 Women to Watch 21-25