Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 25 Women Leaders of Scarsdale for 2023. From its top-ranked public school system to its vibrant cultural scene to its community engagement, there are endless things to admire about the suburban oasis in Westchester County, just miles outside of Manhattan.
This vibrant and sought-after community is home to over 18,000 individuals. It also employs more than 7,600 people, with finance and insurance professionals, scientific and technical services, and health care and social assistance being its three most prominent industries.
Another standout from the New York metropolitan area community is the female leaders that call it home. Among this year's awardees, we have Kathleen Tanner, an award-winning leader and managing director at Accenture who helps her Fortune 500 clients achieve everything from disruptive innovation to market growth to substantial cost savings.
Awardee Katherine Stowe, the head of compliance and conduct risk at Morgan Stanley, who, having been with the company since 2005, has developed a proven track record as a trusted counsel, business partner, and executive. Also awarded is Chelsea Hogan, the Chief Human Resources Officer at Triton International, which, during her tenure, has been recognized as a Great Place to Work, a nod to Hogan’s positive impact on the company.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 25 Women Leaders of Scarsdale for 2023.
1. Annette Goodfriend
Head of Real Estate - New York, North East, IBM Global Business Services
Annette Goodfriend heads real estate for the New York, North East region at IBM. There, Goodfriend leads corporate real estate portfolio strategy and performance in alignment with IBM’s business strategies. Her wealth of experience has made her a go-to person for global corporate real estate management, project management, owner representation in real estate development, and design and construction management of commercial and residential projects. She’s also well known for building strong relationships with decision-makers, seizing control of critical problem areas, and delivering on customer commitments.
Before IBM, Goodfriend was the vice president and real estate director at AllianceBernstein L.P. Throughout her career, she has collected industry best practices to model opportunities, project and control costs, and ROI in corporate real estate. Goodfriend received her undergraduate degree from NYU and master's from Columbia University. She also holds numerous certifications in various fields, including construction management and holistic yoga teacher training.
2. Shubhra Srivastava
VP, Head of Global Data Products, CBRE
Shubhra Srivastava is the VP and head of global data products at CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm. Srivastava is a seasoned leader who operates at the intersection of strategy, product, and analytics with broad experience in the financial, digital, retail, travel, and telecommunications verticals.
Before CBRE, Srivastava spent nearly a decade at Mastercard, where she led the global product team to digitize and optimize small ticket payments and led the strategy for end-to-end product management of data solutions. Srivastava’s expansive career includes previous roles at American Express, Nokia, Acxiom, FedEx, and InterContinental Hotels. Srivastava holds a master's in applied economics from Clemson University and received her undergraduate degree in India from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. She has also been a board member at The Auerbach Global-Impact Foundation and Greenburg Library Guild throughout her impressive career.
3. Marguerita Courtney
Managing Director, MUFG Global Learning, MUFG in the Americas
Marguerita Courtney is the Managing Director of MUFG Global Learning of MUFG in the Americas. She first joined the company in 2003 as director and head of credit training for the Americas. MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) is one of the world's leading financial groups. Headquartered in Tokyo and with over 360 years of history, MUFG has a global network with over 2,100 locations in more than 50 markets including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
Previously, Courtney was a VP and program manager of the investment banking analyst training program at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Courtney earned an MBA in accounting and finance from Fordham University and an undergraduate degree in finance and marketing from Manhattan College.
4. Katherine Stowe
Head of Compliance and Conduct Risk, Morgan Stanley
Katherine Stowe is the head of compliance and conduct risk at Morgan Stanley. Stowe joined Morgan Stanley in 2005 as an attorney in the litigation department and has impressively risen the ranks in the Fortune 100 financial services company since. She has a proven track record as a trusted counsel, business partner, and executive, making quite a name for herself over the last two decades. Stowe is well known for designing and establishing complex global compliance programs to identify and remediate critical compliance risks. And, as a member of the compliance department’s senior management team, Stowe is responsible for analyzing and managing compliance and conducting risk across Morgan Stanley — globally.
As a member of the litigation team, she worked in New York and London, where she handled civil litigation and regulatory matters on behalf of the institutional securities and investment management businesses. From 2012 to 2017, she worked as the global litigation chief of staff. In 2017, Kathy joined the Global Compliance Department, where she worked to establish and then manage its formalized Compliance Risk management programs. She also serves as Co-Chair of the LCD Philanthropy Committee.
Before joining Morgan Stanley, Stowe was a litigation associate with Kirkland & Ellis, a top-recognized law firm, most recently ranked #1 by Law360 in 2023. At Kirkland, Stowe played a crucial role in obtaining the dismissal of multiple federal class actions and related state shareholder derivative actions. She is a graduate of Williams College and Tulane University Law School.
5. Sunny Sun
MD and Head of Global Client Management Asia NY, BNY Mellon
Sunny Sun is the MD and Head of Global Client Management Asia NY of BNY Mellon. Established in 1784, BNY Mellon is America's oldest bank and the first company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Today, BNY Mellon powers capital markets around the world through comprehensive solutions that help clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment life cycle.
Sun is an accomplished senior executive with more than 20 years of financial services and banking experience ranging from credit analysis, commercial lending, sales & marketing, and relationship management to a senior management position. Sun has a successful track record of working across cultures and organizations. Sun graduated from Pace University - Lubin School of Business with an MBA in finance.
6. Katherine Zhang
Managing Director, State Street
Katherine Zhang is the Managing Director of State Street. At State Street, they partner with institutional investors all over the world to provide comprehensive financial services, including investment management, investment research and trading, and investment servicing. Zhang is an experienced leader in leading and validating complex models to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements; in-depth knowledge of Basel, CECL, CCAR, liquidity, and ALM/IRR regulations; thoughtful leadership capabilities, fostering talent retention and development through knowledge sharing and industry best practices.
In Zhang’s role at State Street Corporation, she improved the deposits, balance sheet forecasting, liquidity, Probability of Default (PD), and Loss Given Default (LGD) models to ensure compliance with regulations. By focusing on the latest data and employing detailed segmentation, she gained deeper insights into risk characteristics across different segments. During her tenure with the Model Validation Group at State Street, she also successfully established offshore teams in China and Poland assembled top quant talents as group leaders, and hired top-performing professionals.
Before joining State Street, Zhang was an executive director at GE Capital. Earlier in her career she worked with JPMorgan as a VP. Zhang graduated from the University of Chicago with an MBA in analytic finance and from Beijing Normal University with an undergraduate degree in mathematics.
7. Susan Gaines
Managing Director and Global Head of Talent, Nomura
Susan Gaines began her professional career 24 years ago. Today, she is the Managing Director and Global Head of Talen of Nomura. Nomura is a global financial services group with an integrated network spanning over 30 countries and regions. By connecting markets East & West, Nomura services the needs of individuals, institutions, corporations, and governments through its three business divisions: Retail, Wholesale (Global Markets and Investment Banking), and Investment Management. Founded in 1925, the firm is built on a tradition of disciplined entrepreneurship, serving clients with creative solutions and considered thought leadership.
Gaines first got her start in 1999 as a training specialist at AllianceBernstein. From there, she went on to HSBC, before eventually rising to SVP and global head of learning and engagement at Neuberger Berman, her most recent position prior to joining Nomura. Gaines graduated from the University of Scranton with an undergraduate degree in economics and political science.
8. Heather Zeitz
Vice President of Healthcare, WW
Heather Zeitz is the Vice President of Healthcare at WW. Weight Watchers is a wellness technology company that inspires millions of people to adopt healthy habits for real life. For weight management, Weight Watchers offers recipes with healthy meal ideas and daily meal plans, such as ideas for weeknight suppers, substantial lunches, or delectable desserts.
Zeitz is a passionate, energetic healthcare professional who has spent over 20 years developing products, programs, and content to help people live healthier lives. She has served in a number of leadership roles and successfully managed teams through numerous organizational changes and acquisitions. Her strengths and passion lie in building relationships - with consumers, customers, networks, and teams. She is a natural connector and thrives in environments where innovation comes from making new and interesting connections between unlikely partners or products. As a dedicated manager and team builder, she focuses on harnessing team member strengths and pulling together complementary talent.
Before joining WW, Zeitz was a head of program and service delivery at Onduo, LLC, and before that a partner at Indigo, Inc. Earlier in her career she worked with New York Presbyterian Hospital as a registered dietitian. Zeitz graduated from Cornell University with an undergraduate degree in nutritional sciences.
9. Julie Lind
Vice President, Blackstone
Julie Lind began her professional career 13 years ago. Today, she is the Vice President of Blackstone. Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. They seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for their investors. They do this by relying on extraordinary people and flexible capital to help strengthen the companies they invest in. Their over $1 trillion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets, and secondary funds, all on a global basis.
Lind first got her start in 2010 as an auditor at Ernst & Young. Lind graduated from Questrom School of Business, Boston University with an undergraduate degree in accounting and organizational behavior.
10. Jenny Welling-Palmer
Head of Business Development in Behavioral Health Horizon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
Jenny Welling-Palmer is the Head of Business Development in Behavioral Health Horizon of Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey is best known for their managed care and traditional indemnity plans for individuals and employers the cornerstone of their healthcare business. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the only licensed Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan in New Jersey, provides health insurance coverage to more than 3.8 million people throughout all of North, Central, and South Jersey. Welling-Palmer has 24 years of experience. She began her career in 1999.
Before joining Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Welling-Palmer was a VP of business development and strategic growth at Quartet Health and before that a head of mental health at Head of Mental Health. Earlier in her career she worked with Nortel Networks for a year in an industry scheme. Welling-Palmer graduated from the University of Birmingham with an MS in health psychology and from the University of Kent with an undergraduate degree in psychology.
11. June Scarlett
Chief Patient Access, White Plains Hospital
For over 30 years, June Scarlett has been a leader in healthcare operations, strategy, and innovation, with a focus on improving patient access and engagement across acute and ambulatory settings. She has an undergraduate degree in psychology from Yale University, an MPH from Columbia University, and a master of science in medical anthropology from the University of London. Scarlett has a passion for delivering high-quality and patient-centered care.
Currently, she is the Chief Patient Access at White Plains Hospital, where she oversees the development and implementation of access initiatives, policies, and processes. She also works closely with clinical and administrative leaders to optimize the patient experience and satisfaction, as well as operational efficiency and performance. Previously, she was the vice president of Ambulatory Optimization and Consumer Engagement at Northwell Health, where she led the transformation and growth of the ambulatory network, and the chief patient access officer at Formativ Health, where she managed the strategy and operations of the patient access and practice management optimization offerings. She has extensive experience in building and leading teams, establishing strategic partnerships, and driving innovation and change in the healthcare industry.
12. Ashmita Gupta
Senior Vice President and Head of Analytics, Linedata
Ashmita Gupta is the Senior Vice President and Head of Analytics of Linedata. She first joined the company in 2008 as a front office and hedge fund solutions consultant. With 20 years of experience and 700 clients in 50 countries, Linedata's 1100 employees in 20 offices provide global humanized technology solutions and services for the asset management and credit industries that help its clients evolve and operate at the highest levels. Gupta is a business leader with a proven track record of managing and delivering solutions & services at a global scale. Bridging the gap between business and technology in areas of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
In this leadership role, she provides strategic direction for the innovation and development of Advanced Analytical solutions for internal and external business groups. She also manages a global team of technology and operations involving data scientists, data engineers, and analysts who develop machine learning and generative AI solutions for clients in capital markets, and institutional & wealth management among others.
Previously, Gupta was a senior consultant at i2 Technologies and before that a software programmer at Infosys Technologies Ltd. Gupta earned an MBA from SPJIMR SP Jain Institute of Management & Research and an undergraduate degree in computer science from Motilal Nehru National Institute Of Technology.
13. Chandni Sachdeva
Senior Vice President of Organizational Transformation, Bayview Asset Management
Chandni Sachdeva is the Senior Vice President of Organizational Transformation at Bayview Asset Management. Bayview Asset Management, LLC ("Bayview"), initially founded in 1993, is an investment management firm focused on mortgage and consumer credit, including whole loans, asset-backed securities, mortgage servicing rights, mortgage-related equities, and other mortgage and consumer credit assets.
Sachdeva has over 11 years of experience driving large-scale operating model transformations and counseling executives on their most high-profile strategic, operational, and organizational topics. She is highly recognized for her ability to drive alignment across senior executive teams to make difficult business decisions and deliver results.
Sachdeva has an MBA from Harvard Business School and Shri Ram College of Commerce with an undergraduate degree in economics. Sachdeva first got her start in 2007 as a marketing executive at Red Bull. From there, she went on to MetLife, before eventually rising to associate partner at McKinsey & Company, her most recent position prior to joining Bayview Asset Management.
14. Emilia Flamini
Chief Financial Officer, Orveon Global
Emilia Flamini is the Chief Financial Officer at Orveon, responsible for leading the finance function to deliver profitable growth and safeguard company assets. Orveon Global is a group of high-end and prestige cosmetics companies. Orveon Global is a collective of premium and prestige beauty brands committed to stark honesty, co-creation, and making a sustainable cultural impact. Their collective consists of the following leading clean beauty brands: Bare Minerals, Buxom, and Laura Mercier.
Flamini has over 20 years of finance experience in large multinationals in Europe and the US, covering leadership positions in FP&A, accounting, Internal Audit, and Pricing. Flamini graduated in Business and Economics in Rome, Italy, and received her MBA from INSEAD, France. She is passionate about volunteering and sits on a nonprofit board focusing on youth.
15. Chelsea Hogan
Chief Human Resources Officer, Sr. Vice President, Triton International
Chelsea Hogan is the Chief Human Resources Officer and SVP of Triton International, where she leads the organization’s people strategy in more than 21 offices across 16 countries. In her time at Triton, Chelsea has revamped the human resources function by implementing several people-centric initiatives designed to align Triton’s talent acquisition, performance management, training and development, succession planning, and other critical components with its overarching global business goals.
Before joining Triton, Chelsea served as the global head of human resources at the Brunswick Group, overseeing the HR function and strategy and managing diverse and multinational teams in 28 countries. Chelsea began her career at Heineken USA, where she ultimately served as the director of human resources, providing strategic direction and leadership for HR within the Canadian and Export businesses. She also served as a local HR partner for the regional office. Chelsea earned an undergraduate degree in psychology, Magna cum Laude at Iona University and was a member of the Delta Epsilon Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa national honor societies.
16. Marianne Russell
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mary Ann Liebert
Marianne Russell is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mary Ann Liebert, a leading independent publisher known worldwide for its prescience and establishment of authoritative peer-reviewed journals, books, and trade publications in cutting-edge fields such as biotechnology, biomedical research, clinical medicine, surgery, public health, technology, engineering, law, environmental policy, and other specialized disciplines.
Russell joined the company as senior vice president of development in 2007 and assumed the roles of president of GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News) and chief operating officer in 2017. In these roles, Russell led the company to impressive growth through global licensing expansion, high-profile journal acquisitions, society partnerships, and the introduction of impactful new digital products and services. She oversaw the doubling of the GEN media brand’s revenue as well as reconceived and relaunched its sister publication Inside Precision Medicine. Russell graduated from Bowdoin College with an undergraduate degree in politics and English.
17. Margaret Tramontine
Chief Development Officer, United Way of Westchester and Putnam
Margaret Tramontine began her professional career 37 years ago. Today, she is the Chief Development Officer of United Way of Westchester and Putnam. United Way focuses on financial stability for families by providing adults with job training so they can become employed, help with prescription drug costs, and teach financial education so they can prepare for unanticipated expenses.
Tramontine is an experienced professional with over 30 years in the nonprofit sector, known for establishing and growing relationships, delighting stakeholders, and excelling at project management, and the development and implementation of new initiatives. She is widely recognized as a leader and strategic thinker with an impeccable work ethic and initiative, and a work style of diplomacy, interest, and tact.
Tramontine first got her start in 1986 as a curator of collections at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, Inc. From there, she went on to Western Reserve Historical Society - Hale Farm & Village, before eventually rising to director at Western Reserve Historical Society, Hale Farm & Village, her most recent position prior to joining United Way of Westchester and Putnam. Tramontine graduated from Cooperstown Graduate Program, NYS University College at Oneonta with an MA in history museum studies and from Bates College, Lewiston, Maine with an undergraduate degree.
18. Kathleen Tanner
Managing Director - Northeast Cross Industry Cloud First, Technology Delivery Lead Accenture
Kathleen Tanner, the Technology Managing Director at Accenture, has extensive experience in business value-led technology transformation and operations, with a passion and focus on leadership and innovation. During her Accenture career, Ms. Tanner has held several executive leadership positions across multiple industries and domains including financial services, utilities, life sciences, health, and public services. As an electrical engineer, Ms. Tanner is adept at lateral thinking with a resolve on business outcomes in a dynamic environment. She is recognized as an innovative and authentic thought leader.
Ms. Tanner now leads the technology cloud and platform delivery across all industries for Accenture's largest technology market unit globally. She remains passionate about helping clients, many of whom are Fortune 500, accelerate their digital and cloud transformational journeys. Her achievements include disruptive innovations, market growth, and substantial cost savings. Ms. Tanner understands and builds on organizational design, culture, and structured governance to deliver outcome-based results sustainably. She is a Senior Elite Client Delivery Executive and Elite Quality Assurance Director.
She has served as a contributing author for a 2014 USA Book Award Winner in the category of Best Business Book, Innovative Leaders Workbook for Implementing Analytics Programs, written by Maureen Metcalf and James Brenza. Ms. Tanner was elected Working Mother of the Year by Working Mother magazine in 2011. She resides in the NY Metro area with her two daughters, Claire and Sarah as well as her mother Ann. She enjoys an active and sports-minded lifestyle with her girls; enjoys golf, skiing and is an avid college football, NY Mets, and NY Giants fan.
19. Rebecca Staiman
Executive Director, Strategic Event Marketing, Corporate & Investment Bank, JP Morgan
Rebecca Staiman is the Executive Director of Strategic Event Marketing of the Corporate & Investment Bank at JP Morgan, a leader in investment banking, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. As a strategic marketing executive, Staiman has more than two decades of experience in the field and has been with JP Morgan since 2010. She has been known to improve marketing results by keenly leveraging data to develop business strategies and implementing strategies that net positive outcomes throughout her tenure and career.
Before joining JP Morgan, Staiman was the VP of market research at APS Healthcare. She previously held other VP roles at Lehman Brothers and HSBC Private Bank. As a graduate of Columbia University and Yeshiva University, Staiman holds an undergraduate and master's degree in organizational psychology and psychology, respectively.
20. Adefolake Eke
Director, NAM Head Prime Product Development, Citi
Ade Eke is currently the North American Head of Product Development for the Prime Finance business at Citi. In this role, she is responsible for managing the product development professionals in the region, and for formulating and executing the product development strategy for Prime Finance. Prior to joining Citi, Ade served in senior roles at JP Morgan as well as Goldman Sachs. Her expertise includes solution structuring, and developing/optimizing complex platforms.
She has an undergraduate degree and master’s of science in electronic and electrical engineering (both with honors), and she completed the executive Business Analytics Program at the Wharton School. She is also a CFA charter holder since 2019, with a comprehensive understanding of financial markets and investment principles, as well as broad-based experience in strategic planning, financial and quantitative analysis, client relationship, banking risk assessment and mitigation, project management, regulatory oversight, fiduciary oversight, and brand governance.
21. Dalia Lenskis
Director, Team Member Culture & Experience: Insights, Northwell Health
Dalia Lenskis is passionate about managing programs that build employee engagement and memorable experiences. Today, Lenskis is the director of team member culture & experience at Northwell Health, New York's largest healthcare provider. As a global EX and engagement human resources professional, she has experience working in a fast-paced and technically complex environment and is well-versed in managing multiple end-to-end programs, including employee listening and new hire onboarding.
Before Northwell Health, Lenskis spent half a decade at Mastercard, where she led a cross-functional global new hire onboarding program, governance, and network for employees in 83 office locations. She also built, executed, and managed an employee engagement strategy while there. Known for being a creative, results-oriented, critical thinker, no matter what industry she’s supporting, Lenskis has also held roles in hospitality (Hilton, Starwood) and consumer packaged goods (Procter & Gamble). Lenskis holds an MA from Schiller International University and an undergraduate degree from York University.
22. Donna Seminara
Senior Director, Marketing Analytics, NBCUniversal
Donna Seminara is the Senior Director of Marketing Analytics at NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. While Seminara has been with NBCUniversal since 2019, she’s no stranger to leadership positions.
She has previously held senior positions at entertainment companies like WWE, MediaCo, and MRM Worldwide. Earlier in her career, Seminara spent more than a decade at Publishers Clearing House, where she took on multiple roles.
Through all of it, she made a positive impression on not only her clients but her colleagues as well, with one saying, “Donna provides the light at the end of the tunnel.” Seminara received her MBA in marketing from Long Island University and her undergraduate degree from Stony Brook University.
23. Christina Park
Senior Director of Energy Strategy, Skydio
Christina Park is the Senior Director of Energy Strategy at Skydio. Skydio is the leading US drone manufacturer and world leader in autonomous flight. Skydio leverages breakthrough AI to create the world's most intelligent flying machines for use by consumers, enterprises, and government customers.
Park is a high-impact leader with a proven track record of leveraging personal learning agility, people leadership, and technical depth to create and drive programs toward financial and operational impact. She has cultivated the ability to demonstrate a rare combination of depth in engineering, project management, product strategy, customer support, and vendor management along with relationship management skills to create high-performing cross-functional teams that produce ambitious deliverables.
She is a strong technical professional with an undergraduate degree as well as a master of science in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of New York. Before joining Skydio, Park was a senior director of asset intelligence solutions at New York Power Authority and before that a VP of member engagement at Hydropower Research Institute. Earlier in her career she worked with MIT Production System Design Laboratory as a research assistant.
24. Jayne Travers
Executive Director of Environmental and Social Risk Management, CIBC
Jayne Travers is the Executive Director of Environmental and Social Risk Management of CIBC. She first joined the company in 2014 as executive director of credit risk management. CIBC is a Canada-based financial institution that provides services such as banking, insurance, and wealth planning for individuals and businesses across the globe.
Travers has expertise in designing efficient workflows, formulating and documenting procedures, and managing people. She holds a direct approach to identifying and solving problems, and a strong ability to build teams and foster interdepartmental cooperation. She is highly skilled in relations with auditors and industry regulators.
Previously, Travers was a VP of risk management at Rabobank North America Wholesale and before that a director of credit risk management at UBS. Travers earned an undergraduate degree in economics from The College of New Rochelle.
25. Aihua Liang
Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
Aihua Liang is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. Liang has been with this leading global investment banking, securities, and investment management firm since 2005. Throughout her loyal career, Liang has developed a keen expertise in risk modeling that spans multiple product areas in the market risk space. She has also acquired in-depth knowledge of fundamental market risk methodologies for daily risk management and capital purposes.
Liang graduated from the University of Southern California with a PhD in physics and seismology, and from Peking University with an undergraduate degree in physics. She also actively engages with non-profit organizations like the Young Women’s Leadership Connection, where she was a featured speaker in 2022.