Rebecca Stropoli

Kara McShane took over as head of the commercial real estate team at Wells Fargo at an inauspicious time: February 2020, when COVID-19 was heading toward pandemic status and offices were starting to empty out.

Michelle Seitz has a long history of advocating for responsible investing and diversity and inclusion. Before joining Russell Investments in Seattle as CEO in 2017, Seitz spent 22 years in senior roles at Chicago-based William Blair, where she pushed for diversity and support for women in finance.

Penny Pennington had worked for Edward Jones for some 17 years when she was named the managing partner in 2019.

Jenny Johnson's career at Franklin Templeton has spanned over 30 years. During that time, she has held leadership roles in multiple divisions of the global investment firm, including investment management, technology, distribution and operations.

Cathy Owen has been in the banking industry for almost 50 years, so she well remembers the days when she was the lone woman among her peers. 

Irene Oh has been chief financial officer of East West Bank since 2010. Under her leadership, the bank's total assets grew from $20 billion to $61 billion as of the end of 2021.

Stephanie Novosel, head of commercial banking at PNC Bank, faced one particularly significant challenge last year — helping with the acquisition of BBVA's American banking business.

As head of new product development at U.S. Bank, Vanessa Angeles leads a team that creates cash management solutions for corporate and commercial clients.

At the end of 2020, when Melissa Stevens began running both digital and marketing for Fifth Third Bank, fewer than 10% of new customer checking accounts came through the digital channel. Now the bank is on track to end 2022 with more than 25% of sales originating online or on mobile. 

Last year, HSBC USA made the decision to exit its U.S. mass market retail banking business. Kavita Mahtani, CFO of the Americas for HSBC, played a crucial role in the process.