Special Program Root Tag

Bita Ardalan is MUFG Union Bank's go-to executive for starting and building new business lines or turning around existing ones — with good reason.

Since joining Deutsche Bank two years ago, Susan Skerritt has raised the performance and profile of transaction banking in the Americas while helping to advance the careers of promising female managers.

Barb Godin has some simple advice for ambitious female bankers looking to advance in their careers: "Don't just let life happen."

Since joining UMB Financial, Begonya Klumb has built two divisions — investor relations and mergers and acquisitions — from the ground up. Now she's heading up its healthcare services unit.

Synovus Financial is back to playing offense and it is counting on Liz Dukes shape growth strategies across all business lines.

As HSBC sharpens its focus on international corporate banking, it's counting on Cate Luzio to strengthen its relationships with multinationals.

When Maria Tedesco joined Santander Bank as its head of retail banking in April 2014, customer attrition was high and the bank was losing deposit share. Tedesco was hired away from rival Citizens Financial to reverse these trends and position Santander as the regional bank of choice in all of its key markets.

Smarts matter, of course, but the key to career advancement lies in your ability to lead and motivate others, says Nandita Bakhshi.

Bank of the West is widely viewed as a tech innovator, and some of the credit goes to CIO Kirsten Garen.

A former regulator, Yvette Hollingsworth Clark is boosting compliance staff at one of the nation's largest retail banks.

One of the things that struck me in getting to know the women in our rankings better is that some of them have had significant career setbacks along the way. But they exude confidence anyway, because they have learned how to be fearless.

Confidence, accountability and a willingness to take risks are common traits among highly motivated executives. But true power comes from execution, says HSBC's North American CEO, who advises women to "be in it to win it."

Successful. Influential. Innovative. These women are driving results at their institutions, and paving the way for the female talent behind them.

Whether newcomers to the power scene or bank industry veterans taking on a new challenge, these women bear keeping an eye on.

From capital markets to card networks, businesses in the finance sector are benefiting from these women's efforts.

It wasn't long ago that mobile point of sale companies like Shopkeep were the alternative, the way for very small merchants to finally start accepting cards.

Studies are showing that companies predominantly led by women perform better than those led by men; worldwide trends are showing a continuing uptick in the number of women on boards, but they still account for less than 20% of directors.

Merchants Bank of Bangor in Pennsylvania has tapped its chief operating officer, Tracey Smith, to become chief executive next year.

Major payment processors are lining up in support of Android Pay, which Google began rolling out in the U.S. last week.

Prudential Bancorp in Philadelphia has named Anthony Migliorino to the newly created job of chief operating officer.