William Laurent

Posnett, who has led more than 400 major tech deals over the last 20 years, is turning her attention to enhancing TMT's global strategy.

Over the past year, Jane Fraser, Citi's first female CEO in the firm's history, completed a strategy refresh at the world's most global bank. Despite an implausibly volatile geopolitical environment, she steered Citi to robust first quarter 2022 earnings—returning $4 billion to shareholders, while commanding 200,000 employees globally, and serving millions of consumers and businesses across 95 countries.

Having run both businesses and client-relationship organizations, Emily Portney, chief financial officer of BNY Mellon, brings a well- rounded vision to her oversight of the firm's finance functions, which include tax, treasury, capital management and investor relations — where she regularly articulates and advocates the value of the franchise to the public.

Ida Liu became head of Citi's North American private bank in 2019 and then went on to beat her projections by 12% in 2020 despite the pandemic. That helped her get a promotion last year to global head, running 50 offices across the globe and overseeing more than $500 billion in client business.

Under the direction of the always visible Diane Offereins — who is often the "face of the company" — the total 2021 network volume of Discover rose to $504 billion, from $417 billion in 2020.

When State Street announced plans to acquire Brown Brothers Harriman Investor Services last year, it turned to a trusted executive to oversee the integration: Donna Milrod, who was leading both State Street's Global Asset Managers segment and the Global Clients division.

2021 was a year of transition for Julie Monaco, as her team expanded its strategic sovereign advisory business to address client vulnerabilities in food, energy, and security.

In June 2021, Nadine Chakar, the three-decades long industry veteran, was appointed to lead State Street Digital, a new business division. The division is designed to help institutional investors, regulators, and State Street itself successfully transition into a modern digital economy.

When Abigail Johnson, the chair and CEO of Fidelity Investments, was recently asked to advise those in the early stages of their career, she emphasized the core values that she and her firm have embraced for decades. "Don't doubt yourself. Keep at it. Stay looking ahead. Stay committed and stay true to yourself," she said.

Yie-Hsin Hung, one of the few female CEOs in the asset management industry, has made it a priority to address issues of global warming and social inequality at New York Life Investment Management.

The bank's chief audit officer has been instrumental in helping BNY Mellon deliver on its diversity goals, though she knows her work is far from done.

Portney’s recent track record has allowed her to be more confident in her role chief executor of BNY Mellon’s global financial strategy.

While crypto and decentralized finance will likely not replace the traditional systems of banking and finance, the industry needs to get ahead of the curve, Chakar said.

Last year, Browning’s team constructed disruptive research that brings new metrics to the evaluation of economies, markets, strategies and asset classes.

Last year, the company tapped Milrod to combine all of its sales and relationship management into one group. The initiative led to a 25% increase in new business wins.

Since Hung joined the firm in 2010, NYLIM has nearly quadrupled its assets under management through a combination of geographic expansion, organic initiatives and acquisitions.

Noticing that anxiety was high and moral was eroding for her team in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Kedia decided to focus on projects that would be impactful, including deploying new digital tools and launching new products.

Hackley, proud of her Cuban heritage, has made a point of mentoring and recruiting Hispanic undergraduates and MBA students.

Mohr, the chairperson of the Fairness Opinion Committee, vets every fairness opinion originating in both Asia and the Americas, ensuring that M&A transactions are equitable for all.