- WIB PH
Pamela Joseph is the highest-ranking woman at U.S. Bancorp and leads business lines that consistently generate about a quarter of the company's revenue and more than a third of its fee income each year.
September 18
Pamela Joseph
Vice Chairman, Payment Services, U.S. Bancorp
The mentoring program Pamela Joseph started in 2010 for leaders in U.S. Bancorp's payment services division has yielded some crucial insights.
Most of the women had not received any leadership coaching or development during their career. Many women who rose through the ranks also struggled to let go of the tactical detail work for which they were rewarded in the first place and simply added new responsibilities on top of old ones.
The leadership training Joseph championed which began with 26 of the highest-ranking female leaders in payment services and grew to encompass 59 of them in 2013 helps them identify the types of behaviors that could be holding them back so they can better blossom as leaders.
Joseph says she notices some differences in how men and women approach their careers. For example, she sees a lot of women asking for additional training as a way to get more comfortable with moving up. "It's almost a placebo effect," she says. "'I have been trained and therefore I am.'"
Joseph's team is a major source of innovation at U.S. Bancorp. Two key areas of focus lately have been electronic chips in cards and services in mobile banking. By the end of 2015, over half of the bank's cards will have chips on them, and read a chip at the point of sale.
Her business line's net revenue grew by $46 million in 2013. Joseph has overseen an expanded global reach, which included a new joint venture in Spain with Banco Santander and continued growth in Brazil and Mexico. She also strengthened the company's business-to-business products in merchant services and corporate payments.
