Special Program Root Tag

After eight years as the chief executive of NewAlliance Bancshares, Peyton Patterson is trying out a different role: political appointee.

The North American Global Transaction Services of Citigroup, under the direction of managing director Julie Monaco since 2007, spearheaded the review process of more than 529,000 claims — about 8,300 a day — involving $2.88 billion in rebates submitted over a two-month period.

Donna DeMaio has no trouble saying what she thinks. But a great lesson in leadership she learned just recently is that sharing opinions with her typical passion can have a downside.

When Treasury hosted a forum on the future of housing finance, it all but ignored mortgage lenders. The exception was Bank of America's Barbara Desoer.

Ellen Costello took a winding path to the top-through corporate banking, Treasury, securitization, credit investment management and merchant banking.

Ellen Alemany, Chairman and CEO, Citizens Financial Group and RBS Americas, is grateful for one particularly tough boss.

When Jane Fraser took over at Citi Private Bank, its high-net-worth clients were reeling. But she refused to create comfort by returning to the familiarity of the status quo.

Linda Verba, head of TD Bank's retail operations, has been creating groundbreaking customer-service and employee-reward strategies for more than a decade.

Avid Modjtabai took an indirect path to leading Wells Fargo's technology and operations. "I'm not sure there are many CIOs that came from HR," she says.

Every job certainly has its moments. For Melissa Moore those moments have been positive ones of late.

Lynn Pike, president of Capital One Bank, decided early on to become a banker.

When Colleen Johnston was promoted to CFO at TD Financial five years ago, her focus was less on numbers and more on strategic decisions that drive the numbers.

When Shelaghmichael Brown gets involved in a project, she makes progress fast.

After practicing law for nearly two decades, Bancorp Rhode Island's Merrill Sherman sort of stumbled into banking.

Working with numbers is a pleasure for Diane D'Erasmo, but people skills have been just as instrumental in helping her build HSBC's commercial banking businesses.

Rick Waugh, Scotiabank's president and chief executive, says he is impressed with Alberta Cefis' ability to build a profitable business.

Carver Bancorp's Deborah Wright likes to go out for lunch, because, she says, it's the best way to keep in touch with people.

Frustrated that senior-management ranks are still dominated by men, female executives are approaching their work with a renewed commitment to nurture talented women.

Whatever the next turn in the market cycle brings, the executives on this list will be prepared. They have not only endured some of the toughest times finance has seen, they have led by example through the worst of it.

It's hard to imagine now, but not all that long ago few people could name anyone who worked at Goldman Sachs. Anyone except for chief investment strategist Abby Joseph Cohen.