Anne Finucane
Global Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America
In her role overseeing marketing, communications, public policy and corporate social responsibility for Bank of America, Anne Finucane leads a massive effort to redefine the company's tarnished image.
Though Finucane says she expects it will take several more years for the multipronged strategy to truly take hold, she is encouraged by the early results. Key metrics for 2012-before the launch of a new branding campaign in April-show BofA is making progress with customers: brand favorability rose 16 percent, trust 31 percent and satisfaction 23 percent, from the end of 2011.
The hard work started with fundamental changes inside the company to shed noncore assets and reduce complexity. It continued with Finucane's efforts to mitigate reputation problems that have dogged BofA since the financial crisis-which include overseeing the long and methodical rebranding process. This entailed a full agency review and extensive interviews with employees, customers and other stakeholders to develop a thorough understanding of BofA's strengths and weaknesses. The result: a corporate-wide commitment to making customer interactions easier and more human, along with a new advertising campaign. Both efforts are expected to amp up the positive momentum as the company pivots into sales mode and pursues earnings growth once again.
