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.
Under her management, Atlantic Union won several Spring 2024 culture excellence awards from Top Workplaces in categories like work-life flexibility and compensation.
Atlantic Union is in growth mode. It acquired American National Bank on April 1 in a deal that lifted total assets to roughly $24.5 billion. Atlantic Union kept 80% of American National's employees through a commitment to the community of Danville, Virginia, where the seller was headquartered.
Tedesco approached the acquisition with know-how, having participated in 27 transactions during her career.
"I'm grateful I get to be a part of such a growth-focused organization like Atlantic Union Bank because we're able to make so much progress and positive impact for our customers and communities," she said.
Tedesco is also deeply entrenched in her own city. She's chairman of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and on the boards for the Virginia Bankers Association and ChamberRVA, a business association covering the greater Richmond region.
She's also on the board of Richmond 757 Connects, a local economic development nonprofit, and was appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin to the Virginia Resource Authority's board of commissioners.
Tedesco said connections are the true driver of success in her career.
"My network is made up of countless advisors, mentors and allies," Tedesco said. "I am where I am today because of them."
Despite her accomplishments, Tedesco believes many women still encounter what she calls a "broken rung on the ladder" when seeking leadership positions in the financial services industry. They're less likely to be considered for promotions to leadership roles, a problem compounded by their tendency to take on caregiving roles at home.
That's why a 2023 study from research firm McKinsey & Company found that one in four C-suite leaders are female and one in 16 are women of color, Tedesco noted.
To address this issue at Atlantic Union, she launched the women's inclusion network in 2016. At the time, it was the first employee resource group at the bank. Now there are six.
Tedesco is a big advocate for women improving their networking capabilities. After all, she was hired as Atlantic Union's president in 2018 by John Asbury, the bank's CEO, whom she met through the Consumer Bankers Association 20 years earlier.
"Once you walk through a door it's your responsibility to hold it open for the next person," she said. "When a leader recognizes that spark of potential in someone, I encourage them to tend to it with the support, respect and allyship we all need to succeed."
