From the outside, Teresa Heitsenrether's career is a straight-line path of success. After earning a master's degree in finance at New York University, she began work at JPMorgan Chase in 1987.

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.

Suni Harford ran into several obstacles after she set out to boost the number of women serving on the boards that oversee funds managed by UBS Asset Management.

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.

For Elif Zapparoli, the pandemic-era shift from in-person to remote work is similar to the trend she has seen in the financial services industry over the last 20 years.