Past Award Winners

To view a consolidated list of the Betty Cook and Merit Award winners please click here. To view the list of Past Merit Award Winners with their bios, please see the list below.

Past Merit Award Winners

2018: Anne F. Ackerley, Managing Director, Head of U.S. & Canada Defined Contribution, BlackRock

Anne F. Ackerley, Managing Director, is the head of BlackRock’s Defined Contribution business in the U.S. and Canada. In this role, she is responsible for the development and distribution of investment products and services to over 60,000 defined contribution plans, including over 50% of the Fortune 100. Ms. Ackerley is a member of BlackRock’s Global Operating Committee, Americas Executive Committee, Philanthropy Board, and the Retirement Committee for the BlackRock Retirement Plan. She co-founded BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN), and currently chairs its global steering committee. Anne is a frequent speaker and writer about retirement readiness and women’s leadership.

Prior to assuming her current role in 2015, Ms. Ackerley was the Chief Marketing Officer of BlackRock, where she was responsible for driving the firm’s marketing strategy and supporting the firm’s ongoing efforts to build the BlackRock brand. Prior to this role, Ms. Ackerley was the Chief Operating Officer of BlackRock’s Global Client Group, developing and driving strategy across BlackRock’s client businesses. From 2000 to 2009, Ms. Ackerley held various leadership roles in BlackRock’s U.S. Retail Group, including serving as the head of the mutual fund group, the business liaison to the mutual fund boards, and the President of BlackRock’s open and closed-end mutual funds. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2000, Ms. Ackerley spent 15 years at Merrill Lynch, most recently as the Chief Operating Officer of the mergers and acquisitions department.

Ms. Ackerley currently serves on the DCIIA Executive Committee, is a member of the Harvard-Radcliffe Alumni Schools Committee, and is a trustee of the Mosaic Mental Health Association. In 2013, Ms. Ackerley was honored by the YWCA Academy of Women Leaders and was named a 2013 trailblazer by the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) for her work in advancing gender equity. She was also recognized on the New York City & State CSR’s Responsible 100 list in 2016. In 2017, she was invited to join the Women’s Forum of NY and the C200, both premier organizations of women leaders. Ms. Ackerley previously served on the board of Governors of the Investment Company Institute as well as on the board of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School.

Ms. Ackerley earned a BA degree, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, in economics from Harvard College, and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

2017: Suni Harford, Managing Director, Regional Head of Markets, North America, Citi

Suni Harford is a Managing Director and Citigroup’s Regional Head of Markets for North America. In this capacity, Suni oversees the North American sales, trading, and origination businesses of Citi’s securities and banking franchise. Suni is a member of Citi’s Pension Plan Investment Committee, and a Director on the Board of Citibank Canada. From 2010 – 2015, Suni was the co head of Citigroup’s global women’s initiative, Citi Women.

Prior to her current assignment, Ms. Harford held a variety of senior positions at Citi/Salomon Brothers including the Global Head of Fixed Income Research and the Co-Head of Fixed Income Capital Markets Origination where she led an advisory team focused on financial institutions.

Ms. Harford serves on the Board of Directors of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the financial services industry advocacy group, as well as the Board of Directors of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the world’s largest post-trade financial services company. Suni also serves on several non-profit Boards, including Friends of Hudson River Park, Taproot Foundation, and recently finished her second term with The Forte Foundation, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women leaders in business. Ms. Harford is also passionate about awareness and support for our veteran community, and is involved in many organizations in this regard. Suni has worked with First Lady Michele Obama’s Joining Forces initiative and represents Citi as a founding member of Veterans on Wall Street, a coalition of major financial services firms established in 2010 to engage the broader industry in efforts to support our transitioning veterans. Having helped formalize Citi’s very successful Veterans Initiative, CitiSalutes, in 2009, Ms. Harford remains the senior business sponsor for the initiative. For those efforts Ms. Harford recently received the Outstanding Civilian Service Award from the US Army.

Ms. Harford often appears on CNBC providing her views on the capital markets, and has been named one of American Banker’s Top 25 Women in Finance.

Ms. Harford joined the Markets division of Salomon Brothers, after five years with Merrill Lynch & Co. where she worked in Investment Banking. She joined Merrill upon graduation from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Suni received her Bachelor of Science degree from Denison University, where she majored in physics and math.

Suni lives in Connecticut with her husband Woody, three children (Devon (19), Jenna (16) and Liam (13)) and their dogs, Sully and Mike Wazowski.

2016: Shelley S. O’Connor, Managing Director, Co-Head of Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley

Shelley S. O’Connor is Co-Head of Wealth Management, which provides comprehensive financial services to clients through a nationwide network of advisors. She serves on the Firm’s Operating Committee. Ms. O’Connor joined Morgan Stanley in 1984 and has held a succession of leadership and senior management positions at the Firm. Prior to assuming her current role in January 2016, she served for two years as Head of Field Management for Wealth Management with responsibility for managing the Firm’s U.S. financial advisor organization. From 2010 to 2014, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of Morgan Stanley’s Private Bank, and from 2006 to 2010, she served as the Chief Administrative Officer for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management with responsibility for Risk Management, Technology and Operations. Prior to that, she was the Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Client Coverage Group. She joined the Wealth Management leadership team in New York in 2004 after a 20-year career in Wealth Management branch offices, ultimately serving as Southwest Regional Manager for the Private Wealth Management business. She earned a BA from The University of California, San Diego.

2015: Debra Walton, Chief Content Officer, Financial & Risk, Thomson Reuters

A veteran of the financial services industry, Debra Walton is Chief Content Officer, Financial & Risk, at Thomson Reuters. As the global head of content, analytics, and valuation services, Debra leads a group of nearly 4,000 people with end-to-end responsibility for setting the strategy and managing the firm’s information and analytics offerings. She is a member of Financial & Risk’s executive leadership team and the executive sponsor of the Thomson Reuters Women’s network. Debra has been a member of the Thomson Reuters senior management team since 2003 and has held a number of senior roles in sales, marketing strategy, and product development.

Prior to joining Thomson Reuters, she was president and chief executive of Nucleus Financial, a technology start-up delivering enterprise solutions. Previously she was the first female partner at Cantor Fitzgerald and a founding board member of the Cantor Futures Exchange, the first electronic platform for trading U.S. Treasury futures contracts. Before that she was senior vice president at Dow Jones Telerate.

While living in Australia, Debra launched her career in financial services at Australian Gilt Securities, a reporting dealer in the country’s government-bond market. She helped launch Giltnet Limited, an Australian software company that offered one of the first commercially marketed bond-analytics products.

Debra is active in a number of financial industry and community-based organizations. She is a board member of the Women’s Refugee Commission, a non-profit organization serving refugee women and children around the world, and is an advisory board member at Springboard, a New York based non-profit that brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts to help women take their business plans to market and realize their full potential.

In 2015 she was named to the New York Business Journal’s inaugural “Women of Influence” list. She has received numerous industry awards, including the New York Women’s Agenda Galaxy Award and the Women’s Venture Funds Highest Leaf Award.

Debra is an avid golfer and sailor. She lives in Connecticut with her husband Marc.

2014: Beth E. Mooney, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KeyCorp

Beth Mooney has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KeyCorp since May 1, 2011 and a member of KeyCorp’s Board of Directors since 2010.

In November 2010 Mooney was named KeyCorp’s President and Chief Operating Officer.  Mooney previously served as Vice Chair, Key Community Bank, which includes Retail Banking, Business Banking, Commercial Middle Market Banking, Wealth Management, Private Banking, Key Investment Services and KeyBank Mortgage.

Mooney, who joined Key in April 2006, has over 30 years of experience in retail banking, commercial lending and real estate financing. Prior to her most recent position as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Alabama-based AmSouth Bancorporation (now Regions Financial Corporation), Mooney ran its banking operations in Tennessee and Northern Louisiana.

Mooney also completed other line assignments of increasing responsibility at Bank One Corporation, Citicorp Real Estate, Inc., Hall Financial Group and Republic Bank of Texas/First Republic. At Bank One, she served as Regional President in Akron and Dayton, and then as President of Bank One Ohio, managing major markets throughout the state.

Mooney graduated from the University of Texas in 1977 and earned her Master of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University in 1983, where she was selected as a 2007-2008 Distinguished Alumni of the Cox School of Business.  She has been recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” and by Fortune Magazine as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Business”.  In 2013, Mooney ranked No. 1 on American Banker Magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Banking” list.

Mooney is a member of AT&T’s Board of Directors and is a member of the Corporate Development and Finance Committee.  She is also a member of the Catalyst Board of Directors and serves on the Investment Committee.  Mooney is a Trustee and Treasurer of the Board of the Musical Arts Association (The Cleveland Orchestra), a Trustee of Cleveland Clinic Foundation and a Board member of the United Way of Greater Cleveland. She is a member of The Financial Services Roundtable and is a member of the Supervisory Board of The Clearing House.

2013: Lisa Carnoy: Head of Global Capital Markets, Bank of America

Beyond mountains, there are mountains. This Haitian proverb is one of Lisa Carnoy’s favorites. She quoted it last April at a Harvard Business School forum where she described the anxious three months she spent at Merrill Lynch in late 2008 as the firm prepared for its sale to Bank of America.

Pregnant with twins and unsure of her own future at the company, Carnoy still had to convince her team to stay focused on clients despite the fact she could not promise anyone their long-term security at the new firm. She took solace, and shared with her team, that if you take small steps toward goals without being daunted by how many steps it may take to reach them, “you will persevere. Don’t be daunted by the fact there’s this very tall mountain in front of you.”

Persevere she has. Carnoy, who started at Merrill in 1994, has emerged as a strategist behind some of the largest IPO and block-trade deals since the financial crisis, through her Global Capital Markets team at BofA.

Her division’s work on the carve-out of Pfizer’s Zoetis unit helped produce the largest health care industry spinoff in a decade and the largest IPO ($2.2 billion) since Facebook’s offering. And BofA Merrill was joint bookrunner on an $11 billion debt issue by Brazil’s Petrobras, which was a record-size offering for an emerging-markets issuer, and the fifth-largest dollar-denominated corporate debt sale ever. According to the league tables from Dealogic, BofA Merrill was among the top three institutions in leveraged loans, investment-grade corporate debt, asset-backed securities, convertible debt, mortgage-backed securities and syndicated loans in the first quarter.

Carnoy is a trustee of Columbia University and chairs BofA’s Columbia recruiting team. She also is the executive sponsor for the Women’s Leadership Council within the company’s global banking and markets group. This year she received the Merit Award from the Women’s Bond Club, and she is a strong supporter of Jumpstart, a national nonprofit focused on children’s literacy.

2012: Carla Harris, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Investment Management

Carla Harris is a Managing Director and heads the Emerging Manager Platform at Morgan Stanley Investment Management where she also provides investment advice to corporations, public pension plans, foundations and endowments. She formerly headed the equity capital markets effort for the consumer and retail industries and was responsible for Equity Private Placements. Ms. Harris began her career with Morgan Stanley in the Mergers & Acquisitions department in 1987. For more than a decade, Ms. Harris was a senior member of the equity syndicate desk.

Ms. Harris is the Chair of the Board of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and sits on the boards of the Food Bank for NYC, The Executive Leadership Council, The Toigo Foundation, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, A Better Chance, Inc., The Apollo Theatre Foundation, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Xavier University, and the Maya Angelou Research Center on Minority Health.

2011: Sarah Diamond, the Global Managing Partner of the Financial Services Sector for IBM’s Global Business Services.

Sarah Diamond leads a practice consisting of business and technology advisory work, systems integration, application development and management across the Insurance, Financial Markets, and Banking Industries. In this role, she is responsible for the market development, sales, engagement delivery and overall execution of the Financial Services practice on a worldwide basis as well as within the Americas. Sarah is also a member of IBM’s Integration and Values Team and an advisor to the Industry Academy.

Sarah joined IBM in 2005 as the Global Business Services’ Americas Financial Markets Leader and successively became the Banking Leader and then Vice President, Strategy and Global Industries. She has worked with most major banks and Wall Street firms, exchanges and regulators over the course of a 20 plus year career in financial services. She has led consulting engagements related to risk and regulatory driven initiatives, business strategy and operating model transformation and merger integration, as well as guided the development and management of very significant global client relationships.

Before joining IBM, Sarah worked for another consulting firm where she was senior vice president in charge of the global markets group. She previously served as the relationship partner for a leading global bank, and ran the western region banking and investment services practice. She started her career in international banking, working in the overseas auditing division in London and the capital markets risk management practice in New York of a global bank.

She has an MA in international relations from The Johns Hopkins University where she held a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship and an MA in modern history from Oxford University. She is a board member of the American Friends of St. Hilda’s College, Oxford, and is a mentor to Columbia University’s Executive Master of Science in Technology Management program. She is a past board member and Co-President of the Women’s Bond Club of New York and has recently become a member of its Senior Advisory Group. She is married and has two children.

2010: Karen Dunn Kelley, Chief Executive Officer of Invesco Fixed Income; Executive Vice President of Invesco Aim Distributors, Inc.

Karen Dunn Kelley is chief executive officer of Invesco Fixed Income, responsible for its fixed income and cash management business, employing 119 investment professionals with $153.4 billion1 in assets as of December 31, 2009. In addition to her current position, she is also a member of Invesco’s Executive Management and Worldwide Institutional Strategy Committees, and president and principal executive officer of Short-Term Investments Trust and AIM Treasurer’s Series Trust and serves on the board for the Short-Term Investments Company (Global Series) plc, AIM Global Management Company, Ltd and Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc.

Under Ms. Dunn Kelley’s direction, Invesco has built one of the world’s most respected cash management organizations in the industry. In April 2007, she was named chief executive officer of Invesco’s newly combined fixed income and cash management teams. The combined team creates one of the largest fixed income operations in the world, with a comprehensive range of products and operations in key markets globally. In January 2010, Invesco Fixed Income was selected as a finalist for Fixed Income Manager of the Year in Global Pensions’ annual awards and a finalist for 2009 Bond Manager of the Year by Money Management Letter, an Institutional Investor publication. Most recently, Ms. Dunn Kelley was named the recipient of The Women’s Bond Club’s prestigious Merit Award, presented annually to a senior woman leader for her career accomplishments in financial services. The award will be presented at a dinner event in April. Founded in 1921, The Women’s Bond Club of New York is one of the oldest professional organizations for women and is the first organization in New York to focus on the advancement of women in finance.

Ms. Dunn Kelley has been in the investment business since 1982, and has a vast amount of experience in both sales and asset management in the short and long term areas of the fixed income market. She began her career at Drexel Burnham Lambert on the Fixed Income High Grade Retail Desk, which included trading and brokering of high grade corporate, government, hybrid, mortgage and money market securities. In 1985, she was promoted to vice president and assistant manager of the Fixed Income High Yield Retail Desk, which included expanded responsibilities for the daily trading and brokering operations. During this time, she structured swaps, hedges, arbitrages and risk positions. In 1986, Ms. Dunn Kelley joined Federated Investors and became involved in the asset management business aspect of the fixed income division. She was responsible for the cash management of Federated’s entire family of funds which consisted of over 40 different mutual fund products. Funds managed were governed by the Investment Company Act of 1940 and she gained significant experience with SEC Rule 2a-7 which governs money market funds. She also managed U.S. long duration government securities portfolios and held various positions including government bond trader, repo trader and federal funds trader. During her tenure at Federated she managed the back office operations staff and was responsible for daily interaction with securities’ custodians for all portfolios.

Ms. Dunn Kelley joined Invesco in 1989 as a money market portfolio manager with initial responsibilities for all money market operations from portfolio administration to portfolio management for taxable, tax-free and treasury portfolios. In 1992, her responsibilities were expanded to include longer term government portfolios and was named chief money market and government officer. In 1994, Ms. Dunn Kelley was responsible for creating the Short-Term Investments Company (Global Series) plc portfolios domiciled in Ireland, which evolved to include U.S. Dollar, Sterling and Euro denominated portfolios. Other portfolios created and managed under her leadership include private trusts, U.S. ERISA portfolios and Canadian domiciled money market funds.

Ms. Dunn Kelley graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Villanova University, College of Commerce and Finance.

2009: Nicole Arnaboldi, Chairman, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners; Vice Chairman Credit Suisse Alternative Investments and Co-Head Illiquid Investments

Nicole S Arnaboldi is a Vice Chairman of Credit Suisse in Alternative Investments in the Asset Management business, based in New York. She is the Co-Head of Credit Suisse’s Illiquid Alternatives businesses, which includes the management and agency distribution of illiquid investments such as private equity, real estate, credit products and certain hedge funds, and Chairman of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners (DLJ MBP). She is also a member of the Asset Management Committee.

Ms Arnaboldi joined Credit Suisse First Boston in November 2000 through the merger with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where she was a Managing Director in DLJ’s merchant banking team. Prior to the merger, Ms Arnaboldi spent 15 years at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette primarily in the private equity and venture capital groups.

Ms Arnaboldi joined DLJ in 1985 as an Associate in the Investment Banking Group. In 1987, she moved to the Sprout Group, DLJ’s venture capital affiliate, where she was involved in a variety of principal transactions. In 1993, Ms Arnaboldi moved to the Private Equity Group, where she was promoted to Managing Director in 1996.

Ms Arnaboldi serves on the Investment Committees for many of the Credit Suisse private equity funds. She also serves on the boards of the Credit Suisse Americas Foundation, New Yorkers for Children, Prep for Prep and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Investors Advisory Committee on Financial Markets and previously served on the boards of Duane Reade Corp., Horizon G.P., Inc. and several private companies. Additionally, she has served on the board of the Harvard Club of New York, and served as Treasurer of the Harvard Alumni Association.

Ms Arnaboldi holds a BA magna cum laude from Harvard College, a JD cum laude from Harvard Law School and an MBA with a high distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, where she was a Baker Scholar.

2008: Karen Peetz, Senior Executive Vice President, The Bank of New York Mellon

Promoted to her current position in 2006, Karen serves as the division head and CEO in charge of Global Corporate Trust. Karen manages a staff of more than 4,000 in 54 offices across the United States and in 19 countries. Her division serves 30,000 clients representing $11 trillion in total outstanding debt. Global Corporate Trust includes Municipal, Corporate, Structured Finance and Global trustee, agency and asset services.

Karen began her banking career at JPMorgan Chase (formerly Chemical Bank), where she held several management positions in sales and business management, including an assignment in London. After completing Chemical Bank’s credit training program, Karen was a commercial lending officer. In 1998, she joined The Bank of New York to run its domestic U.S. Corporate Trust business and subsequently ran its Global Payments business. Five years later, she was named head of Global Corporate Trust.

Karen is a member of The Bank of New York Mellon’s Executive Committee, the organization’s most senior management body, which oversees day-to-day operations. Karen chairs the Women’s Initiatives Network for the Company and serves on its Diversity Council. Karen is also the Company’s executive sponsor of “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer”.

Karen is a member of the Executive Committee for the Brooklyn Academy of Music and is a co-chair of Women United in Philanthropy for United Way of New York City. Karen also participates in the Campaign for Penn State.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University.

2007: Diane L. Schueneman, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Infastructure Solutions, Merrill Lynch

At the time she received the award, Diane L. Schueneman was senior vice president and head of the Global Infrastructure Solutions group at Merrill Lynch. In this role, she was responsible for global client services and operations; technology applications development and infrastructure; business process and sourcing strategies, and information security. Ms. Schueneman’s group worked with Merrill Lynch’s businesses and support functions on developing growth strategies and providing the infrastructure and execution services required by the firm’s clients and operating units around the world. Ms. Schueneman served on the board of directors of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation and on the advisory board of BITS, a non-profit consortium of U.S.-based financial services firms. She was also Senior Advisor to the Merrill Lynch Women’s Professional Network.

2006: Erin Callan, Managing Director, Lehman Brothers

At the time she received the award, Erin Callan was head of Lehman Brothers’ Global Finance Solutions Group in the Investment Banking Division. She was involved in all phases of structuring, marketing, and executing structured capital instruments for the Firm’s investment banking clients inclusive of debt, equity and hybrids. Erin was a member of the Bank’s Senior Client Council and a recipient of the Chairman’s Client Service Award in 2004 and 2005. She was also the current co-chair of WILL, the women’s network at Lehman Brothers.

2005: Sharon Rowlands, President & Chief Operating Officer, Thomson Financial

At the time she received the award, Sharon Rowlands was President and Chief Operating Officer for Thomson Financial. Since 2000, when she assumed this role, Rowlands guided Thomson Financial through its transformation from a company of 45 disparate corporate entities to a global financial services powerhouse. The company’s content, technology and services play a vital role in facilitating decision-making, deal flow, benchmarking and analysis for the world’s largest financial participants. In achieving this, she changed the financial technology and information industry by creating a new business service model for Wall Street firms.

2004: Ellen C. Schubert, Managing Director, UBS Investment Bank

At the time she received the award, Ellen Schubert was the Global Head of Hedge Fund, Foreign Exchange and Precious Metals businesses at the UBS Investment Bank. She was responsible for managing the marketing of FX and PM cash and derivative advisory services and products to a global client base of Corporations, Hedge Funds, and Investment Companies. She was also a member of the UBS Investment Bank Board and a member of the Federal Reserve Board Foreign Exchange Committee.

2003: Eileen K. Murray, Managing Director and Global Head of Technology, Operations and Product Control, Credit Suisse First Boston

In 2003, when she received this award, Eileen K. Murray was a Managing Director and Global Head of Technology, Operations and Product Control of Credit Suisse First Boston. She was a member of both the Operating Committee and Executive Board of CSFB and the first female member to serve on these senior Committees. Eileen chaired the Audit Committee of HP Financial Services Board of Advisors OMGEO Board, was a member of the Board of American Women’s Economic Development Corporation (AWED). She also served on the following committees for Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation Board (DTCC): Compensation Committee, Equity Operations and Planning Committee, and the Membership and Risk Management Committee.

2002: Shelley Leibowitz, Company CIO, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley

In 2002, when she received this award, Shelley Leibowitz was Managing Director and Company Chief Information Officer at Morgan Stanley. She was responsible for technology strategy and solutions for company areas across the enterprise. Prior to this, she was a board member and technology advisor for Gain Capital, an Internet based market-maker in foreign exchange. In recent years, she has held Chief Information Officer positions at Greenwich Capital Markets, Greenwich NatWest, and Barclays Capital. Ms. Leibowitz has also held senior technology positions at Morgan Stanley and Bankers Trust. Ms. Leibowitz is an advisory member of the Board of the Women’s Bond Club of New York, a Trustee and Chair of the ad-hoc Technology Committee at the King & Low-Heywood Thomas School in Stamford, Connecticut, and a frequent lecturer on topics relating to Technology and Financial Services. Ms. Leibowitz is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Williams College with a degree in Mathematics.

2000: Martha Gallo, JP Morgan

At the time she received the award, Martha Gallo was Managing Director and Auditor of J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated. Prior to her Audit role, she held a number of executive positions, including Chief Operating Officer of Morgan’s Credit Risk business and Co-head of Technology, where she was one of the original architects of the Pinnacle Alliance. She was also a member of several of the J.P. Morgan’s governing boards, including the Operating Risk Committee and the Diversity Committee.

1999: Patricia Vlahakis, Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York

Patricia A. Vlahakis joined Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in 1981 and became a partner in 1988. At the time she received this award, Ms. Vlahakis practiced “corporate and securities law, concentrating on transactional matters such as mergers and acquisitions, hostile takeovers, cross-border transactions and private equity investments, as well as corporate governance.” (www.wlrk.com) Patricia received her JD from Columbia School of Law and her BA Summa Cum Laude from Bryn Mawr College. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the Phoenix House Foundation, Inc.

1998: Leslie Tortora, Chief Information Officer, Goldman Sachs, New York

Leslie was head of technology at Goldman Sachs when receiving this award. She later went on to become its CIO. She was a Partner with the firm and also sat on the Management Committee. Since retiring from Goldman, she worked as the Principal Manager of the Tortora Sillox Family Foundation.

1997: Joyce Chang, JP Morgan, Head of Emerging Markets Research

Joyce was Head of Fixed Income Emerging Markets Research at Merrill Lynch when she received her Merit award. Previously she worked for Salomon Brothers as both a Managing Director and Emerging Markets Strategist. Joyce holds a Masters of Public Affairs from Woodrow Wilson, and a BA from Columbia.

1996: Denise Boutross McGlone, Chief Financial Officer, Sallie Mae Corporation

Denise was head of derivatives at Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Financial Products from 1991-1993. Before reaching Sallie Mae, Denise also spent time at First National Bank of Chicago and Security Pacific National Bank. AT the time she received the award she was an active member of the Business Advisory Board, as well as a Board member of the International Swap & Derivatives Association. She holds an MBA with Distinction in Finance from American University, and completed her undergraduate work at Dunbarton College.

1995: Lisa Polsky, Head, Merrill Lynch Securities Services Division

Lisa Polsky, who went on to head the Client Financing arm of the Security Services Division of Merrill Lynch, was the first woman to be inducted into the Derivatives Hall of Fame. Her specialty was structuring derivatives. At the time she won the Merit Award, Lisa was Managing Director at Banker’s Trust.

1994: Susan Storey, Head of Canadian dollar derivatives, CIBC Wood Gundy

Susan Storey, head of Canadian dollar derivatives at CIBC Wood Gundy, is the first Canadian woman to win the Merit Award from the Women’s Bond Club of New York. At the time she received this award, Storey lead a 10-person trading group at CIBC Wood Gundy and was the only woman to hold such a role among the major Canadian banks. Storey was president of Forex Canada, an industry association representing more than 500 foreign exchange traders in Canada. She was the first woman to be elected to this position. In 1994, Storey helped found the Canadian Committee for Professionalism to promote professionalism and integrity in foreign exchange markets in Canada.

1993: Maureen Hendricks, Managing Director, Salomon Smith Barney

Maureen, now retired, was head of new business for the banking group at JP Morgan when she won her award. She later moved to Salomon Smith Barney as a senior banker. In the past she was a member of the Young Women’s Christian Association, U.S.A… Maureen attended both Smith College and Harvard Business School.

1992: Elizabeth B. Dater, Co-Head of US Equities, Managing Director and Member of the Management Committee, Credit Suisse Asset Management

Beth Dater was a senior portfolio manager at Warburg Pincus Asset Management, which was later acquired by Credit Suisse Asset Management, when she won her award. Beth makes regular appearances on TV on Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser. She holds a BA of Fine Arts from Boston University, and is a member of the Women’s Economic Roundtable.

1991: Nancy Newcomb, Retired Citigroup Executive

Prior to her retirement in 2004, Nancy served various roles at Citigroup, most recently as Senior Corporate Officer, Risk Management. She served on the Board of many institutions including The New York Historical Society, Connecticut College, the New York Academy of Finance, Young Concert Artists, the Van Leer Group Foundation (the Netherlands) and Moody’s Corporation. Nancy holds a BA from Connecticut College and an MA in Economics from Boston University.

1990: Leressa R. Crockett, Head of the Office of Financial Services, Chair of Financial Services Corporation and New York City Industrial Development Agency

In the year she received the Merit Award, Leressa Crockett was Head of the Office of Financial Services, Chair of Financial Services Corporation and New York City Industrial Development Agency. She supervised a $1.6 billion portfolio of economic development loans. She is an increasingly significant figure in the city’s troubled financial future and “a person emerging in power and influence and likely to be a future leader in the financial community.”

1989: Nancy Donovan, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Dean Witter’s Financial Services Group

In the year she received the Merit Award, Nancy was the Executive Vice President of Marketing in Dean Witter’s Financial Services Group. Formerly she was the senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Discover Card Services, where she was a key player in starting the Discover Card for Dean Witter.

1988: Maria Ramirez, President and CEO, Maria Fiorini Ramirez, Inc

At the time she received the award, Maria was President and CEO of her own company, Maria Fiorini Ramirez, Inc. She has held positions in the past including corporate first vice president and later chief money market economist at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. Maria has also worked for Becker Paribas Inc., and Merrill Lynch. Maria holds a BBA from Pace University, where she later completed post-grad work.

1987: Greta Marshall, Investment Manager, California Public Employees Retirement System

In the year she received the Merit Award, Greta Marshall was the Investment Manager for the California Public Employees Retirement System. She oversaw the largest public pension fund in the country, with assets then totaling about $43 billion.