No. 16: Leslie Godridge, U.S. Bank

Leslie Godridge
EVP and Head of National Corporate and Institutional Banking, U.S. Bank

Strategic collaboration is one of Leslie Godridge's strong suits. An example of this is a meeting she convened last year of line managers, portfolio managers and senior credit approvers who work with her unit, along with senior managers in the capital markets business.

It was the most in-depth planning session of its kind since the formation of the National Corporate and Institutional Banking unit when she joined U.S. Bank in 2007, and the results of it continue to play out. The group conducted a detailed review of clients and prospects for each of her 13 geographic and specialty business units. It identified opportunities and potential impediments, assigned teams to craft solutions and implemented them. Godridge says the session was particularly useful for breaking down silo thinking and providing a broader view of customer development. She held a similar planning session this year.

Godridge's loan portfolio represents 44 percent of total commitments for the wholesale bank business. She is managing it well, too-in the first quarter, her team had no chargeoffs or nonperforming loans and saw growth in fees from loans and capital markets.

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