People

Capstone

For seven straight years, JPMorgan Chase executive Heidi Miller, a tireless advocate for her profession, has been recognized by American Banker as one of the most powerful women in the industry. This year she will be honored with a lifetime achievement award, to be presented at the Oct. 6 event in New York celebrating all of the women in this year's ranking. Miller plans to step down early next year from JPMorgan Chase, where she ran the treasury and securities services business for six years before she was put in charge last summer of the firm's international operations.

Mentor to Many

"When I saw her enthusiasm I thought, 'If she believes in me, then I should believe in me." —Paula Bell, on the encouragement she received from Cara Heiden, her mentor at Wells Fargo

Before Wells Fargo had a formal mentoring program, Cara Heiden instituted one herself. She has since lost count of how many people she's mentored over the years. But the beneficiaries of her guidance won't forget the experience anytime soon.

Paula Bell, a business process consultant at Wells since 2006, reached out to Heiden three years ago after hearing her speak at a diversity event in Des Moines, where Heiden said she was specifically interested in connecting with African-American employees to learn more about their perspective.

Heiden, whose retirement as co-president of Wells Fargo Mortgage was announced in July, mentioned on the panel in Des Moines that she opened a line that at least four new mentees every year, and that she always was open to people reaching out to her.

“That put a little bug in my ear,” Bell recalls. She emailed Heiden the next day and asked if she would consider taking her on as a mentee. Cara responded within 24 hours, and the two women began planning the first of many meetings. “We always made sure to meet once a month at the very beginning," Bell says. "Even if a lunch or dinner had to be rescheduled, Cara made sure to make the time to meet with me.”

Bell says that Heiden helped her prepare for interviews and various opportunities within Wells, and she credits her mentor keeping her focused on the idea of advancement. "She looked at the job descriptions of positions I was interested in and helped me find a fit. I was a little leery and scared, in a comfort zone and didn’t want to move, but when I saw her enthusiasm and thought, ‘If she believes in me, I should believe in me,’ and I went for it.”

Bell vividly remembers a piece of advice from Heiden that still resonates strongly for her: "Whether you’re in a position of leadership or you’re an individual contributor, you have to be consistent. It’s implicit to your credibility that you’re consistent in what you do and humble in the way you’re doing it.”

Taking Time

“Stepping down as CEO gave me a great opportunity to take my own advice, to reassess what my life plan is and will be.” —Peyton Patterson

Knowing her tendency to dive headfirst into new activities, and hoping to avoid the trap this time around, Peyton Patterson, former president and CEO of New Alliance Bank in Connecticut, says she subjected herself to a “disciplinary review" of sorts and hired a life coach when she left New Alliance.