Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Chief Risk Officers of 2024. A chief risk officer is an important member of the C-suite for large companies and organizations. This executive is responsible for detecting and mitigating threats that could affect revenue, growth, and overall success. They need to be up to date on regulatory risks and technological threats.
CROs come from a wide variety of career backgrounds, including legal, accounting, and economics. Some also come from cybersecurity and IT backgrounds. While this career is still largely dominated by men, many talented women leaders are leading the way in the risk management field.
This year, we’re honoring industry veteran, Kyongmie Kim, the Chief Risk Officer for Citi. She’s dedicated her career to risk mitigation, leading global and regional teams responsible for risk management reporting and data analytics across the wholesale credit portfolio in over 100 countries.
Next, we recognize Ashton Boon, the CRO of the Mayo Clinic. Boon provides strategic oversight of the health law practice within the legal department and leads the regulatory compliance and clinical research specialty teams sharing expertise with department and executive-level physicians and administrative leadership on state and federal regulations.
Finally, we celebrate the career of Angela Bennett, the CRO of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the nation. As the Chief Risk Officer, Bennett compares facts gathered during investigations against policy to determine the coverage of claims.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 50 Women Chief Risk Officers of 2024.
1. Kyongmie Kim
Chief Risk Officer, Citi
Kyongmie Kim is the Chief Risk Officer of Citi. Citi's mission is to serve as a trusted partner to their clients by responsibly providing financial services that enable growth and economic progress. Their core activities are safeguarding assets, lending money, making payments, and accessing the capital markets on behalf of their clients.
Kim first joined Citi in 1990 as a business operations manager. She served as a managing director and the global head of wholesale credit management reporting and data analytics at Citi from January 2013 to July 2021. Based in New York, she led global and regional teams responsible for Citi’s risk management reporting and data analytics across the wholesale credit portfolio in over 100 countries. Her role involved transforming the data infrastructure, establishing reporting standards, and developing dynamic analytical tools for senior management and Board reporting. She also managed external disclosures for investors and regulators, crisis management reporting, and monitoring Citi’s wholesale portfolio trends in line with credit loss, reserves, risk capital, and stress loss.
Kim earned an MBA in Corporate Finance from Yonsei University and an undergraduate degree in English language and literature from Ewha Womans University.
2. Holly Meidl
Chief Risk Officer, Ascension
Holly Meidl is the Chief Risk Officer of Ascension, one of the nation’s leading nonprofit and Catholic health systems. Ascension includes approximately 134,000 associates and 35,000 affiliated providers and operates 139 hospitals in 18 states.
Meidl has 34 years of experience. She is a creative strategist focused on risk solutions for the dynamic healthcare environment. Since March 2018, she has also served Ascension as vice president of risk services at Ascension in the Greater Nashville Area, TN. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the risk financing and clinical risk management functions of Ascension, the largest not-for-profit health system in the US.
Before joining Ascension, Meidl was a senior vice president at Allied World. Before that, she was a managing director and US healthcare practice leader at Marsh. Earlier in her career, she worked with Sedgwick as a senior vice president. Meidl graduated from Golden Gate University with an MBA in Finance and Banking and from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business with an undergraduate degree in risk management and insurance.
3. Leah Schraudenbach
Chief Risk Officer, Humana
Leah Schraudenbach is the Chief Risk Officer of Humana, a Kentucky-based managed healthcare company that provides health insurance services, including medical and supplemental benefit plans for individuals and families. Schraudenbach has management and strategic responsibility for the second line of defense teams that identify, quantify, and recommend strategies to address operational, business continuity, financial, strategic, and technology risks for all Humana lines of business. In this second-line role, she develops policies, frameworks, and tools to help the company make better decisions. These functions engage in robust and appropriate challenges, assess the quality of the control environment, aggregate and report residual risk, and, where appropriate, escalate for review. Her primary goal is to create sustainable value by improving the quality of operations to support customers and other stakeholders.
Prior to Humana, Schraudenbach led first-line initiatives, including the formation of joint ventures to acquire and finance assets. She has experience in asset underwriting, capital markets, model risk management, derivative strategy and risk management consulting, public market securitization, and rating agency requirements. She prioritizes mentoring with the goal of developing leaders and risk managers who understand business strategy and operations.
Earlier in her career, Schraudenbach was a vice president at Chase Manhattan Corporation. From there, she went on to Goldman Sachs, before eventually rising to head of technology and operational controls, enterprise risk management at AIG, her most recent position before joining Humana. Schraudenbach graduated from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management with a Master’s in Finance and from Northwestern University with an undergraduate degree in mathematical methods in the social sciences.
4. Ashton Boon
Chief Risk Officer, Mayo Clinic
Ashton Boon is the Chief Risk Officer of the Mayo Clinic. She first joined the company in 2012 as a Medicare regulatory and reimbursement process manager. Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated healthcare, education, and research. Boon also serves as legal counsel and chair of the Health Law Practice Group. She provides strategic oversight of the health law practice within the legal department. Boon leads the regulatory compliance and clinical research specialty teams sharing expertise with department and executive-level physicians and administrative leadership on state and federal regulations.
Before joining the legal department, Boon served as an administrator for the urology department, designed a Mayo Clinic Centers of Excellence program, negotiated commercial contracts on behalf of the institution, served as a regulatory consultant, and managed a revenue cycle department. She utilizes these experiences to provide a curriculum that is practical and applicable, infusing real-world examples into lectures and coursework.
Previously, Boon was a Medicare operations senior compliance detection analyst at UnitedHealthcare. Before that, she was a law clerk at the United States Attorney's Office. Earlier in her career, she worked with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc. as a law clerk. Boon received her JD with Health Law and Healthcare Compliance Certifications at Hamline University School of Law. She has an MHA from the University of Minnesota and an LLM from the Loyola School of Law at the University of Chicago.
6. Kristina Odom
Chief Risk Officer, Bon Secours Mercy Health
Kristina Odom is the Chief Risk Officer of Bon Secours Mercy Health, the fifth-largest Catholic healthcare ministry in the US and one of the nation's 20 largest healthcare systems. Odom’s career demonstrates a commitment to improving healthcare delivery through strategic risk management and innovative solutions.
Odom possesses a comprehensive skill set that includes expertise in litigation, risk management, and healthcare. Her proficiency in HIPAA, insurance, healthcare management, and hospital operations underscores her ability to navigate complex regulatory environments and ensure compliance. She has a deep understanding of medical malpractice, financial risk, and patient safety, coupled with extensive experience in healthcare information technology (HIT) and electronic medical records (EMR). Her background in Medicare, employment law, nursing, corporate law, and physician relations further highlights her multifaceted capabilities. She is well-versed in healthcare consulting, working with physicians, and implementing Epic Systems.
Odom got her start in 2002 as an attorney at Eichhorn & Eichhorn. From there, she went on to Kettering Medical Center Network. She eventually rose to system director of physician risk and insurance at Mercy Health (formerly Catholic Health Partners), her most recent position before joining Bon Secours Mercy Health. Odom graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law with a JD in Law and from the University of Cincinnati with an undergraduate degree in nursing science.
7. Lisa Athens
Chief Risk Officer, Baylor Scott & White Healthcare
Lisa Athens is the Chief Risk Officer of Baylor Scott & White Healthcare. She first joined the company in 2015 as general counsel of regulatory operations. Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family, and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient, and affordable through its integrated delivery network.
As the CRO, Athens brings a wealth of experience in general insurance, claims, and civil litigation. Her expertise spans personal injury, insurance, litigation management, and commercial litigation, demonstrating her ability to handle complex legal challenges. She is skilled in managing liability, real estate, legal writing, and eminent domain issues, ensuring comprehensive risk oversight. Her proficiency in legal liability, mediation, product liability, and insurance law underscores her capability to navigate intricate regulatory and legal landscapes. Additionally, she has a strong background in toxic torts, bad faith claims, and torts, further highlighting her extensive legal expertise and strategic risk management abilities.
Athens began her career at Burford & Ryburn in 1992, where she was a partner for 23 years until 2015. In 2015, she joined Baylor Scott & White Health as the general counsel of regulatory operations. Athens attended St. Mary's University School of Law from 1989 to 1992 and obtained a JD.
View the complete list of awardees.
8. Angela Bennett
Chief Risk Officer, Los Angeles Unified School District
Angela Bennett is the Chief Risk Officer of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The second-largest school district in the nation, LAUSD enrolls over 640,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, at over 900 schools, and 187 public charter schools.
As CRO, Bennett compares facts gathered during investigations against policy to determine the coverage of claims, extending or denying coverage as appropriate. She assesses and determines the extent of damages, documenting findings with photographs, measurements, repair estimates, and thorough log notes. She also establishes reserve amounts within her prescribed settlement authority limit, negotiates settlements of claims, and recommends claims exceeding her personal authority limit to her supervisor for approval.
Before joining LAUSD, Bennett was a customer service representative at U-Haul International, Inc. Before that, she was a customer service sales representative at Walgreens. Earlier in her career, she worked with Henkel as a customer service assistant. Bennett graduated from California State University-Sacramento with an undergraduate degree in computer and information systems security/information assurance.
10. Kim Rupert
SVP & Chief Risk Officer, SAIC
Kim Rupert is currently the Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer at SAIC, a technology integrator focused on advancing the power of technology and innovation to serve and protect the world. Their robust portfolio of offerings across the defense, space, civilian, and intelligence markets includes secure high-end solutions in mission IT, enterprise IT, engineering services, and professional services.
Rupert leads SAIC’s risk, ethics, and compliance organization. Her responsibilities include overseeing risk management, ensuring ethical practices, and maintaining compliance with regulations across the organization. Prior to her current position, Rupert was SAIC’s senior vice president of contracts and pricing. In that role, she was part of the SAIC leadership team tasked with carrying out the “split” that separated SAIC from its former parent company. As part of the transition, Rupert led the novation of more than 12,000 contracts from the parent company to SAIC.
Rupert holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland College Park, an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Science in Law (Cybersecurity) from the University of Maryland. She has a Master’s Certificate in Government Contracting from George Washington University. Rupert has served as the president of the NCMA Board of Directors.
11. Kimberly Bailey
Vice President & Chief Risk Officer, Intermountain Healthcare
Kimberly Bailey is the Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of Intermountain Healthcare. Intermountain Health (formerly Intermountain Healthcare) is a United States not-for-profit healthcare system with 385 clinics and 33 hospitals in the Intermountain West (primarily Utah, Idaho, and Nevada).
A seasoned, results-oriented leader with significant experience in building and sustaining robust risk management, corporate insurance, and claims management programs, Bailey has a strong track record in delivering consistent and effective results in overseeing complex insurance and captive insurance programs. She develops alternative risk transfer strategies, participates in M&A due diligence, negotiates/drafts company-wide contracts, and manages diverse internal and external business relationships.
Before joining Intermountain Healthcare, Bailey was a system vice president and chief risk officer at SCL Health. Before that, she was a chief legal counsel and practice group leader, in insurance, claims, and litigation at Johns Hopkins Health System. Earlier in her career, she worked with Eberle, Berlin, Kading, Turnbow & McKlveen, Chtd. as a partner. Bailey graduated from the University of Idaho College of Law with a JD in Law and from Loyola University Chicago School of Law with a Master of Laws. She attended the University of Idaho for her undergraduate degree in journalism.
16. Mary Wagnon
SVP & Chief Risk Officer, Unum
Mary Wagnon is the Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of Unum. Since its founding in 1848, Unum has been a leader in the employee benefits business through innovation, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to customers. Playing an active role in strategy and operations, Wagnon provides leadership, direction, and oversight to the board of directors, chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and senior management team concerning enterprise risk management. She established and continues to manage the corporate risk philosophy and appetite, ensuring the company culture maintains risk awareness while aligning with the company’s purpose, values, and business strategies.
Many of Wagnon’s 25 years of experience in financial and actuarial roles has been at Unum, which she joined in 2000 as an actuarial student on the valuation team. She then worked in actuarial Director roles, followed by assistant vice president roles in analysis and pricing. In her most recent role as vice president and financial lead for voluntary business, she combined Colonial Life and Unum US Voluntary Benefits into one P&L team. She helped modernize the approach to financial analysis through long-duration target improvement implementation.
Before joining Unum, Wagnon held actuarial assistant roles at MONY Life Insurance Company (AXA) and Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Intensive Mathematics, with a minor in statistics, from the University of South Carolina. She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
17. Lysette Bailey
SVP & Chief Risk Officer, Common Securitization Solutions
Lysette Bailey joined CSS in March 2022 as Chief Risk Officer and Senior Vice President. CSS built and operates the mortgage securitization platform supporting the Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security (UMBS) of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. CSS provides single-family issuance, bond administration, disclosure, and tax services.
Bailey brings more than 25 years of operational, information security, and information technology risk management experience to CSS. Before joining CSS, she served as senior vice president, chief operational risk, and technology risk officer at Comerica. She also served as vice president of operational risk and a technology risk officer at Wells Fargo and as chief information security and operational risk officer at BMO Harris Bank. In addition, she held several senior leadership roles at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, including director and chief information security officer.
Bailey has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Drake University, a Master of Business Administration in Finance from DePaul University, and a Master of Science in Information Technology from Northwestern University. She also maintains a Certificate in Delivering Information Services from Harvard University.
20. Rebecca Cady
VP & Chief Risk Officer, Children's National Hospital
Rebecca Cady is the Vice President and Chief Risk Officer at Children’s National Health System. Children's National Hospital, based in Washington DC, was established in 1870 to help every child grow up stronger. It’s transforming pediatric medicine for all children. Cady is responsible for the Children’s National Enterprise Risk Management Department and management of their litigation program, including serving as counsel to the compliance officer and human resources. Additionally, she oversees the operationalization of the organization’s clinical risk management program and insurance program, including managing the organization’s captive insurance company, its ombudsman program, and the workers’ compensation program.
Cady creatively and effectively uses and improves risk financing/insurance to structure a risk financing and risk transfer program that serves the needs of the organization and supports its ERM initiative. Over the past nine years, she has established and implemented innovative programs and approaches to risk management and risk financing for Children’s National that have been used as templates for the organization’s compliance program model.
At Children’s National, Cady previously served as interim executive director of a subsidiary patient safety organization and as interim vice president, chief compliance and privacy officer. Before joining Children’s National, she was a partner at Grace Hollis Lowe Hanson & Schaeffer, LLP. Cady earned a JD from the University of San Diego School of Law and an undergraduate degree in nursing from Georgetown University.
22. Karen Prommer
Chief Risk Officer, Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Karen Prommer is the Chief Risk Officer of Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). At CHLA, they believe every child deserves to enjoy all those special moments that childhood has to offer, free from pain and suffering. This is what inspires their staff to be their best, and they're equipped with everything they need to succeed.
At CRO, Prommer leads enterprise risk management for the medical center and the medical group at CHLA. Earlier in her career, she had various roles in risk management at Cigna. Her latest was as a regional manager for the staff model for the Central Region. She then served as the director of Adventist Health White Memorial for over a decade before moving to her current position as CRO.
Prommer graduated from California State University, Los Angeles, with a Master's degree in Healthcare and from Downstate Health Sciences University with an undergraduate degree in nursing.
View the complete list of awardees.
23. Cara James
Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer, Arvest Bank
Cara James is the Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of Arvest Bank. She first joined the company in 2013 as chief compliance officer. Arvest Bank is a community-based financial institution serving more than 110 communities in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
James excels in compliance, particularly with the Bank Secrecy Act, AML, and OFAC regulations. Additionally, she is well-versed in the USA PATRIOT Act and has extensive experience managing financial institutions' operations, credit, and banking. Her expertise extends to financial risk management, including credit risk and operational risk. James has a strong background in strategic planning and enterprise risk management, along with leadership skills essential for guiding teams effectively. She is proficient in retail banking, consumer lending, and managing loans, making her a versatile and accomplished chief risk officer.
Previously, James was an SVP and director of compliance at First National of Nebraska. Before that, she held the same roles at First National Bank of Omaha. Earlier in her career, she worked with BOK Financial as an SVP and chief compliance officer. James earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University. She currently resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
26. Dana Storms
EVP and Chief Risk Officer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
As the Executive Director of the Office Performance Management and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Chief Risk Officer, Dana Storms is accountable for a broad scope of enterprise-level activities, including oversight of the Department of Energy prime contract for the management and operation of PNNL, a $1.24 billion research and development institution with more than 5,000 talented scientists, engineers, and support professionals. Storms is responsible for PNNL’s enterprise risk management and the framework used to integrate processes and tools throughout the Laboratory allowing management to evaluate risk in an objective, consistent, and calibrated fashion across the entire risk portfolio.
Storms has more than 25 years of experience in government and commercial sectors, leading teams and programs, and managing performance-based contracts with US government agencies, universities, industry, and nonprofit organizations. Before becoming CRO, Storms served as PNNL’s prime contract manager responsible for the interpretation, revision, and implementation of the prime contract. Additionally, she served as the division director for the requirements and records management organization, mentoring and leading staff responsible for the systems and processes that comprise the lab’s requirements analysis, workflows and work controls, and records management.
Storms joined PNNL in 2016 after leading the contracts management organization at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where she authorized contract modifications and interpreted changes in contract direction. She was accountable for the development, execution, and authorization of strategic partnership agreements, cooperative research and development agreements, and user facility agreements. Before that, she developed INL’s award-winning small business program. A native of Idaho, Storms earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the University of Idaho.
31. Pooja Rahman
Chief Risk Officer, Transamerica
As Chief Risk Officer for Transamerica, an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms, Pooja Rahman is responsible for assessing and advising on risks to business strategy and processes.
Rahman joined Transamerica in 2023 with over two decades of risk management, finance, and legal background in the insurance and investment industry. As CRO, she is responsible for assessing and advising on risks to business strategy and processes. Rahman first got her start in 1999 as a technical analyst and lead at Principal Financial Group. From there, she went on to the Iowa Insurance Division, before eventually rising to senior vice president and chief risk officer at Protective Life, her most recent position before joining Transamerica.
Rahman has a JD from Drake University Law School and a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Orleans. Additionally, she is a member of the Federal Reserve Board’s Insurance Policy Advisory Committee (IPAC). Outside of work, she is proud to serve on the national board of Easterseals and chairs the board’s audit committee.
32. Ryan Hallett
Chief Risk Officer, Black Knight
Ryan Hallett is the Chief Risk Officer of Black Knight. She first joined the company in 2014 as vice president of enterprise risk program management. Black Knight, Inc. is a data and analytics company that drives innovation in the mortgage lending and servicing and real estate industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets. Hallett plays a crucial role in supporting the organization's vision and goals by delivering C-suite and board enterprise risk reporting, identifying risks and areas of opportunity, and providing guidance on proposed strategic initiatives. Furthermore, she fosters a culture of risk awareness and continuous improvement among colleagues and stakeholders.
With over 20 years of experience, Hallett has been instrumental in driving performance, innovation, and success across enterprise risk and information security domains. Leading and overseeing multiple functions, including information security, third-party risk management, identity and access management, enterprise risk governance, enterprise business continuity, and physical security, across the US and India, she demonstrates a deep commitment to organizational resilience and compliance. Passionate about overcoming challenges, Hallett delivers best-in-class solutions, designs robust governance frameworks, and leads high-performing teams in navigating complex, regulated industries.
Previously, Hallett was the head of IT security operations and threat management at Voya Financial. Earlier in her career, she worked with Aon Hewitt as a benefits implementation manager. Hallett earned an MA in international business from the University of Florida and an undergraduate degree in decision information sciences from the University of Florida.
34. Karen Kruppa
Chief Risk Officer, Suffolk University
Karen Kruppa is the Chief Risk Officer of Suffolk University. Located in downtown Boston, Suffolk University gives its students unparalleled access to the city and all it offers. Kruppa joined Suffolk University as the university's first dedicated director of risk management in 2006. In this role, she oversaw a business continuity manager, as well as the university's environmental health and safety department.
Kruppa has over 23 years of experience in risk management. Before joining Suffolk, she worked as director of risk management, human resources, and environmental health and safety for a management consulting firm in Rhode Island that represented companies of various industries. She served on the board of directors for the University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA) from 2019 to 2022 and continues to be an active committee member.
Kruppa has made presentations at multiple national and regional URMIA conferences on various risk management and safety topics. Additionally, she has served as president of the board of directors for New England Educators Insurance Association (NEEIA) since 2009 and is the current president of the board of directors for NEEIA Compensation Inc., a self-insurance group providing workers compensation coverage in the state of Massachusetts for 34 educational institutions. Kruppa received her Bachelor of Arts from Rhode Island College and her Master of Science in Risk Management and Insurance from Florida State University.
36. Tamina O'Neill
EVP & Chief Risk Officer, HTLF
Tamina O'Neill is the EVP and Chief Risk Officer of HTLF. Heartland Financial USA, Inc., is a Denver, Colorado-based bank holding company operating under the brand name HTLF, with assets of $19.13 billion as of March 31, 2024. HTLF is committed to its core commercial business, supported by a strong retail operation, and provides a diversified line of financial services including treasury management, wealth management, investments and residential mortgage.
O'Neill came to HTLF with extensive senior management and leadership experience, having worked in small, mid-size, and larger global financial institutions. Her financial services and compliance career started 30 years ago in a leadership development program at LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO (at the time, a prominent banking organization owned by a multinational global financial institution). Throughout her career, she has been involved with and led teams in government lending, commercial banking compliance, corporate compliance, operational risk, and enterprise risk. O'Neill has built numerous compliance and risk management programs from the ground up while proactively managing regulatory affairs.
O'Neill’s comprehensive experience is complemented by an impressive educational background. She holds an undergraduate degree from Dominican University, graduating magna cum laude, and she earned her MBA in Finance/Strategy from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. She has also completed her formal credit training from the former LaSalle Bank Commercial Lending Credit Training Program, including various courses from the American Institute of Banking. As a risk practitioner, O'Neill participates as a panelist and speaker for the American Bankers Association (ABA) risk management conferences and events. She serves on the Mid-Size Bank Coalition Chief Risk Officer’s forum and on the Mid-Tier Council for the Risk Management Association.
40. Sarah Jones
Chief Risk Officer, LogistiCare
Sarah Jones is the Chief Risk Officer of LogistiCare, the nation's largest manager of non-emergency medical transportation programs for state governments and managed care organizations. LogistiCare draws on a vast store of healthcare logistics resources, data, and experiences to customize solutions for clients, define analytical trends, and close gaps in service.
As CRO, Jones spearheads the development, management, and vision-setting for the Information Security Program. Her responsibilities include designing the strategy and architecture for security programs, encompassing audit and compliance functions, risk governance, security policies and procedures, security awareness training, security information and event management, incident response management, and business continuity processes. She ensures that security architecture deliverables align with and bolster business, technical, operational, and compliance objectives. Additionally, Jones recruits and oversees the Information Security and IT compliance teams. She also develops and maintains detailed security architecture plans and designs and reviews threat and vulnerability reports to create comprehensive action plans addressing risks.
Before joining LogistiCare, Jones was a customer service manager at Acorns. Earlier in her career, she worked with Dairy Queen as a customer service assistant. Jones graduated from Georgia State University with an undergraduate degree in business administration and management.
View the complete list of awardees.
42. Dawn Mugford
Chief Risk Officer, Rockland Trust
Dawn Mugford is the Chief Risk Officer of Rockland Trust Company and its parent bank holding company, Independent Bank Corp. Rockland Trust Company is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Massachusetts. Rockland Trust offers a wide range of banking, investment, and insurance services to businesses and individuals through retail branches, commercial lending offices, investment management offices, and residential lending centers located in Massachusetts. Mugford is responsible for the enterprise-wide monitoring, controls, measurement, and reporting of all major risk types, as well as expanding on the bank’s existing enterprise risk management infrastructure to help the organization continue to maintain colleague, customer, community, and shareholder confidence.
With a wealth of experience in risk management, compliance, audit, and quality assurance and review, Mugford brings superior analytical, communication, and project management skills to the table. Through progressively senior leadership roles in the financial services and insurance sectors, she has honed innovative approaches and proven expertise in various domains, including operational risk assessments, underwriting, and corporate finance.
Before joining Rockland Trust, Mugford was the senior vice president and director of operational risk management for corporate security and investigations at Eastern Bank for nearly four years. Prior to that, she worked at UNUM Insurance as the director of policies, procedures, and quality review. Previously, Mugford also served as SVP and director of credit risk management for TD Bank. Mugford earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. Over the years, she has volunteered with a number of organizations, including the United Way, Junior Achievement, and the Maine Cancer Society.
45. Olivia Lindsay
EVP & Chief Risk Officer, Banc of California
Olivia Lindsay is the Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of Banc of California, one of the nation's premier relationship-based business banks, providing banking and treasury management services to small-, middle-market, and venture-backed businesses. In this role, Lindsay oversees the enterprise risk management organization and has responsibility for the bank’s BSA, AML, and overarching risk program across the Bank. Before her promotion to CRO, Lindsay served in various capacities, including deputy chief risk officer and SVP of risk management.
Lindsay has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry with a focus on the management and execution of operational and regulatory processes and controls. Before joining Banc of California, she spent 15 years at MUFG Union Bank in various roles, including managing director of the performance excellence group. Lindsay has extensive experience in the areas of risk and control framework development and operational process design and optimization. Her areas of expertise include business process re-engineering for BSA/AML operations, third-party risk management, credit life-cycle operations, issues management, exam management, and governance oversight.
As a Lean Six Sigma certified expert, Lindsay has worked with business leaders to continually reimagine their service delivery models in order to remain competitive, efficient, compliant, and relevant. She serves on the board for Hope Builders, an organization that empowers young adults of Orange County through mentorship and skills training. Lindsay received her business administration degree from USC, with an emphasis in International Business.
47. Melissa Sexton
Chief Risk Officer, BNY Mellon Wealth Management
Melissa Sexton is the Chief Risk Officer of BNY Mellon Wealth Management and BNY Mellon NA Bank. BNY Mellon has served institutions and wealthy families, their businesses, family offices, endowments, and foundations for more than two centuries.
Sexton is an accomplished risk management executive with expertise in market, investment, credit, liquidity, and operational risk management. Before joining BNY Mellon, Sexton was a managing director at Morgan Stanley, where she was head of investment risk, overseeing over $1 trillion AUM, and co-head of field risk and supervision, where she supervised the division’s 16,000 financial advisors. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Sexton was the CRO for two hedge funds and spent more than 10 years in credit and market risk at Bank of America.
Sexton graduated from Boston University with an undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics. Her philanthropic interests include MESA (Math, Engineering, and Science Academy), iMentor, Doctors Without Borders, and Children International. Sexton serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA), a charter school in Brooklyn dedicated to providing a rigorous education to equip every student with the ability to succeed in life.
50. Michelle Johnson
Chief Risk Officer, Byline Bank
Michelle Johnson is the Chief Risk Officer for Byline Bank, where she is responsible for compliance and risk management. Byline Bank is a bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It is the primary subsidiary of Byline Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company. As of 31 December 2019, it operated 57 branches, 56 of, which were in the Chicago metropolitan area.
As a risk management executive, Johnson boasts extensive expertise in diverse banking environments, covering a broad spectrum of areas including information technology, integration, compliance, risk assessments, cybersecurity, GLBA, SOX, audit, vendor management, policy implementation, enterprise risk management, and project management. Johnson joined the Byline Bank team in 2015 as the director of operational risk management and was promoted to deputy chief risk officer in 2018 and her current role in 2019. She has spent the majority of her career in financial services, holding numerous roles that include enterprise risk, information security, and mergers and acquisitions. She also served for 10 years with the Army National Guard as a Military Police Officer and completed tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Johnson received a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois State University and a Master of Science from Norwich University, and she is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Enterprise Risk Professional (CERP).
View the complete list of awardees.