Glenda Pedroso has spent her entire 35-year banking career in Miami. But her new position at Northern Trust has her doing a lot more traveling.
On Aug. 1, Pedroso was appointed as the East Region president, after previously serving as head of wealth management banking at Northern Trust. A few days later, Pedroso flew to Chicago to visit Northern Trust's headquarters, then jetted off to New York to meet with additional members of the bank's executive team.
Being the East Region president requires meeting with a client base of mainly high net worth individuals across 26 offices from New England to Florida, plus other locales across the Eastern seaboard, Pedroso said.
Her new job will capitalize on Pedroso's ability to devise sophisticated lending products, including specialty loans for art, yachts and aircraft. The role also requires a more interdisciplinary approach, Pedroso said, including overseeing fiduciary advisors.
As head of wealth management banking, Pedroso shepherded growth in Northern Trust's multibillion-dollar loan and deposit revenue streams. Loan growth climbed 15% in 2021 compared to 2020, and deposits leaped 21%.
Pedroso has been in banking since 1987, and is the highest-ranking Latina in Northern Trust history.
"The banking industry when I started was highly dominated by white men," she said. "Being a Latina and coming into a client pitch, I definitely had a sense I was different."
Gradually, Pedroso grew comfortable leveraging that difference as an asset, she said.
Today, she cites progress for women in the banking profession, noting the growing ranks of women in middle management and the growth of mentorship programs. To increase the leadership pipeline, last year Pedroso piloted a company program to hire women and nonwhite candidates who are recent college graduates. Applicants do not need a degree in finance and will be provided with on-the-job training.
