2024 Most Powerful Women in Finance

The megabank is simplifying the management structure of its private bank. Regional leaders will now report directly to Andy Sieg, head of wealth.

While many banks and financial service companies play out on the global stage, the industry itself can be smaller than it seems. Many of the honorees on this year's list worked at the same companies during their careers. Here is a look at those connections.

The president of U.S. Bancorp reflected on the progress women have made, and the work left to do, at American Banker's Most Powerful Women in Banking gala.

Female chief executives are a rare thing in the banking industry, but the women honored in this year's suite of awards are hoping to change that trend.

Industry leaders in this year's ranking shared insight on how they would advise their younger selves on building a path to the top and the skills today's rising professionals need.

As the global head of the industrials group, Hackley oversees a large chunk of the bank's $2.41 trillion in assets. 

Erdoes, CEO of asset and wealth management, leads more than 30,000 employees with 15 direct reports and helps manage the bank's $5.4 trillion in client assets.

By the end of 2023, Fidelity served 43.2 million workplace participant accounts, 38.7 million retail accounts and 8.7 million wealth management firm accounts using its clearing and custody platform.

Duckett, president and CEO at TIAA, regularly calls attention to the fact that more than 40% of Americans don't have enough savings to retire, and the percentage is even worse for women and minority groups.

In January, Johnson launched the Franklin Bitcoin ETF, which seeks to reflect the performance of the price of bitcoin.

With the November acquisition of Adenza, a risk management and regulatory reporting software provider, Nasdaq continued the fintech expansion that Friedman has championed since she took the CEO job in 2017.

Hung joined State Street Global Advisors in December 2022, following a 12 year stint at New York Life Investments, including 7 1/2 years as its CEO.

Merrill Wealth Management added a record 37,500 net new clients in 2023, up nearly 50% from 2022, and added $38 billion AUM from clients in 2023, nearly five times its AUM increase in 2022.

Portney leads the bank's largest business unit, asset servicing. The group's assets under custody and administration neared $50 trillion in the second quarter, setting a record for BNY and the financial industry.

In her daily duties at BNY, Smits, who is originally from the Netherlands and now based in Britain, leads the bank's seven investment firms which have a combined $2 trillion in assets.

Milrod has led the bank's foray into digital finance and its efforts to become more product-driven.

Martin manages NYSE's five equity exchanges — NYSE, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, NYSE National and NYSE Chicago — plus its two options exchanges, NYSE Arca Options and NYSE American Options. 

As managing partner at Edward Jones, Pennington's in charge of 8 million clients, more than 19,500 financial advisors and $2.1 trillion assets under management.

Knox leads more than 4,500 professionals at Bank of America Private Bank, which generates $3.6 billion in annual revenue and has $640 billion in client balances from high-net-worth individuals, families and institutions. 

Yeshaya leads a team of 3,600 employees managing the financial resources of a firm that has swelled to $1.2 trillion in assets following landmark growth in wealth management.