Merit Award

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.