Top 50 Women to Watch

by Ellen Armstrong (New York City)

These days, we look for the bright spots in finance and the economy anywhere we can find them. Fortunately, in the case of the Wall Street Journal’s 50 Women to Watch, there are plenty of bright stars on whom we can focus our attention.

First on the list is Sheila Bair, the Chairwoman of the FDIC, who has been in the headlines of late, between her cogent testimony on Capitol Hill on the roots of the financial crisis and her key role in negotiations of various federal bailout packages. She has been an outspoken advocate of protecting homeowners facing foreclosure, as well as protecting America’s bank accounts in the wake of one bank failure after another.

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Voice of Experience: Laura Palomino de Forbes, Director and Head of Business Development, DIAM International

Laura_Palomino_de_Forbes.jpgBy Pirkko Juntunen (London)

It is difficult not to fall quickly into clichés such as ‘superwoman’ when describing Laura Palomino de Forbes. In her mid-thirties, married and a mother to a 15-month old daughter, Palomino de Forbes heads up DIAM International’s business development and client services efforts in the EMEA Region from her London office. She has, through hard work and dedication, put DIAM on the map in Europe and Middle East by acquiring new assets of over $3bn in the past four years. Read more

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Voice of Experience: Cleo Thompson, Head of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Gender Advisory Council

Cleo_Thompson_Oct_07_blog_.jpgby Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

With a background in IT and project management, it may surprise some that Cleo Thompson, the head of PwC’s Gender Advisory Council, is the company’s global go-to person for gender diversity. But her personal philosophy may explain it:

“Don’t pigeonhole yourself. Don’t think you are restricted by what you studied. If you are flexible, there are lots of ways to use your skills to make a sideways move, especially within a large organization like PwC.” She added, “I’ve never yet had a job in PwC that someone has done before –I’ve either applied for a newly-created role or I’ve convinced management to craft the position for me.” She advised that she prefers to “drag myself up and bring someone along with me – many of the people I have recruited and trained within PwC have been promoted and gone onto great things.”

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Movers and Shakers: Food and Drug Stores

groceries.jpgby Sima Matthes (New York City)

According to Progressive Grocer, the grocery industry – retail, wholesale and manufacturers – has traditionally had few, if any, females in the C-suites. The article, focusing on the Top Women in Grocery, published earlier this year, celebrated the progress women have made in recent years, “introducing a much-needed female perspective into the upper echelons of food industry management by taking the reins themselves.” To check out their complete list of top women from large and small grocery stores, industry alliances and manufacturers, please go here.

Here is another list–an express line, 10 items only, please—of the movers and shakers in the Fortune 1000 companies in this sector:
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35 Under 35: Erika Serow, Partner, Bain & Company, Global Retail Services

Serow_erika_print_color_1_.jpgby Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

Erika Serow joined Bain out of college, looking to consulting to help her figure out what she really wanted to do with her life. Bain sent her to work in London, Sydney, and then Milan, which ultimately allowed her to put her Italian major to good use.

After several years, she left to get her MBA from Stanford Business School, fully expecting to do something other than consulting when she came out; however, it was during school that she realized that she could advance faster in consulting than in any other industry and thus decided to return to Bain after graduation.

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Movers and Shakers: Entertainment

remote.jpgby Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

In these tumultuous times, who could blame a gal who wants to escape for a little while into the nonsense that is “reality” television or to go a live concert to sing cheesy hair band songs of her youth at the top of her lungs? Here are some of the top women in Entertainment who make these guilty pleasures possible:

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Movers and Shakers: Insurance

womenladder.jpgby Sima Matthes (New York City)

Kudos to Madelyn Lankton of Travelers Insurance (#93 on Fortune 500), who recently received the Women In Insurance Leadership Award from Insurance Networking News (INN).

Ms. Lankton is the senior VP of Travelers Claim Shared Services. She was recognized for making a “significant impact” on her business according to the INN. In her role as senior vice president, Ms. Lankton is reposible for Claim Shared Services, an organizaiton of over 1500 people that uses the latest in information and data analysis to help the company in reviewing claims and evaluating the results. Ms. Lankton also serves as an executive mentor for individuals in the Finance and Information Technology Leadership Development Program at Travelers. According to INN, Ms. Lankton initiated the development of Women’s Mentoring Forum for high potential young women in the IT department.

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Voice of Experience: Dianne Ledingham, Director, Bain & Company

ledingham_diane_print_color_1_.jpgby Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

The Glass Hammer recently spoke with Dianne Ledingham, Director in Bain’s Boston office, member of Bain’s North America Telecom, Media & Technology Practice and leader of the consulting firm’s Global Sales Effectiveness group. Ms. Ledingham has played various local and global governance roles in the firm and is currently a member of Bain’s Worldwide Compensation and Promotion committee. In addition to serving corporate clients, Ms. Ledingham has advised several early stage technology start-ups in her career at Bain. She is also a Board member of City Year, a multi-regional non-profit.

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Voice of Experience: Anne Wallace, Executive Director, Identity Theft Assistance Center

Anne_Wallace1_1_.JPGby Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

Anne Wallace is a trailblazer. In a 35-year career in banking and financial services that has taken her from the public to the private sector and back again, Wallace has broken down barriers for women and has reshaped the industry in the process.

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Movers and Shakers – Financial Data Services

stockticker.JPGby Sima Matthes (New York City)

All eyes are on the market today, looking to see if the $700 billion “rescue plan” will have the desired effect of soothing nervous investors and turning around the downward market spiral. This intense market scrutiny put us in mind of those who, among other things, process the market transactions. And, as we focus on the stock tickers and market fluctuations, it seemed appropriate to note some women leading the way in the Financial Data Services industry.

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