Pub. 3 2015 Issue 3

Issue 3. 2015 7 T he energy being generated within Utah’s banking industry by women is not only remarkable, but it is also essential to the future of our industry. Utah is the fourth largest banking state in America when measured by assets under supervision. You simply can’t achieve that size and scope by ignoring 51% of the work force, especially not in a state with extremely low unemployment rates. In October, the American Banker hosted the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking awards in New York City. I was honored to attend and thrilled with how well Utah was represented. To start the program, Lori Chillingworth, Executive Vice President of Zions Bank was the National Community Impact Award honoree in recognition for years of promoting programs and policies that cre- ate opportunities for women in the com- munity. Louise Kelly, President & CEO of EnerBank USA, and past UBA board chair was then recognized as one of the top 25 most powerful women in finance followed by LeeAnne Linderman, Execu- tive Vice President of Zions Bancorp and past UBA board chair who was recognized for the 9th year in a row! The leaders of two other Utah headquar- tered banks were also honored, Margaret Keane, President & CEO of Synchrony Financial, and Diane Morais, President & CEO of Ally Bank. And even though they don’t hail from Utah, their leadership is a major influence here. Finally, Cristie Richards, Senior Vice President of Zions Bank was invited on stage to represent Zions Bank which was recognized as one of the top 5 Banking Teams in America. I was so proud of these banking leaders and the enormous amount of positive attention they brought to our state. And it wasn’t just me that noticed. After the event, as I stopped to congratulate one of the honorees, she interrupted me and wanted to tell me how wonderful all of the recipients from Utah are and then went out of her way to congratulate Utah for doing such an outstanding job developing women bankers. Looking back, my only regret was that our current UBA Chairman, Jill Taylor, Re- gion President for Key Bank was not there with me to watch her boss, Beth Mooney, 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking Awards Chairman and CEO KeyCorp receive the award as the most powerful woman in banking for the third year in a row. It was a beautiful evening, and it would be easy to sit back and conclude that all is well in terms of women in banking in Utah, but there is more to do. A recent WSJ article suggests that parity between men and women on bank boards and in the C-suite could still be as far as 100 years away. After witnessing the progress we have made in just the last 10 years, I think we will get there much sooner. Especial- ly if we continue to coach, encourage, mentor, promote and inspire women to look at the exiting opportunities that exist in banking. Whether we are looking to our future workforce demands, or our ability to successfully connect with the needs of all our customers, attracting, retaining and promoting more women in banking will be the key to making sure Utah remains one of the global leaders in banking. n By Howard Headlee