Special Program Root Tag

This summer Margaret Keane went from business line head to CEO of a publicly traded company, the culmination of a decade's work.

Thinking like clients yields the best solutions for them, says Charlotte McLaughlin.

This past year, Candace Browning and colleagues from various parts of Bank of America Merrill Lynch participated in a "Thought Leadership Steering Committee" whose findings sound more philosophical than financial.

Rebecca Patterson worked as a journalist before starting a career in finance, and her communication skills have contributed mightily to her success.

When talking about the business she's been building for the last decade, Katia Bouazza sounds like a proud parent.

This is a big year for Joyce Chang. At J.P. Morgan's corporate and investment bank, she's gone from overseeing about 280 employees as global head of fixed income research to supervising about 950 employees as the global head of research.

Julie Caperton, Wells Fargo's securitization chief, has taken on a lot of new responsibilities.

When Diane Schumaker-Krieg speaks about advancing women in the business world — as she frequently does — she often mentions her 10 practical career tips. No. 5 on the list is "be confident."

A Yale music major who trained at Julliard, Elinor Hoover once dreamed she would "set the world on fire with my piano playing." Instead, she's rocking boardrooms.

In an uneven year for JPMorgan Chase, Liz Myers shined. Her global equity capital markets unit completed 469 deals in 2013 and generated $1.5 billion in fees — an increase of 46% over 2012.

In her formative years, Suni Harford wanted to teach high school physics. She still occasionally mulls a second career in the classroom.

British taxpayers — and anyone who finds bank bailouts distasteful — should probably thank Caroline Silver for her work last year.

After a 20-year career at the World Bank, Beschloss is now president and CEO of the Rock Creek Group, a global advisory and asset manager, previously called Carlyle Asset Management Group.

"Diversity" has become a buzzword as companies position themselves to take advantage of an increasingly disparate clientele. But Kelly Williams can stake a solid claim to having led the charge, not just having responded to the call.

Since taking the helm at the nation's third-largest retail brokerage in January, Mack has split the financial services group she once ran into three distinct units, reshuffled management and strengthened collaboration between the brokerage and banking units to boost cross-sales and referrals.

With her daughter heading off to college, Julie Goodridge has more time to give back to the community. And she recently acquired a much better space to do it in.

Mary Callahan Erdoes is spearheading a program at JPMorgan Chase to help women get back into the banking industry after extended time off. And she really hopes you'll steal this idea.

• The 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance

It's been a fast ascent for Barbara Desoer, who just joined Citibank as its chief operating officer in October 2013 and moved up to the CEO role in April.

SunTrust Banks wants to drive nearly all customer transactions to its digital channels, and it is Rilla Delorier's job to make sure it succeeds.

Jana Schreuder has long been one of Northern Trust's highest-ranking women and now she appears to be on the short list of potential successors to CEO Frederick Waddell.