CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 52 CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards 2019 UNITED KINGDOM LAURA BARROWMAN Chief Technology Officer, Chief Information Security Officer at Credit Suisse ABOUT LAURA BARROWMAN Laura is not only a technologist, she is a trailblazer in promoting and empowering women in IT. As the global sponsor of Credit Suisse’s IT Women’s Council (ITWC), Laura works with colleagues around the globe to attract and retain female tech talent and fuel the pipeline for the future. Programs and initiatives within ITWC are intended to increase promotability of deserving female staff, impart career skills, and more fundamentally, bring together diverse voices to create a real community and powerful social network for women at Credit Suisse. Recently, Laura’s efforts have led to a change in job descriptions to remove gender-specific language or biases, and to promote programs that help women progress. Externally, Laura is a big proponent of STEM education for girls – and advocates on its behalf whenever and wherever possible. Earlier this year, she met with members of the UK government to discuss STEM education for young girls, and was asked to participate in a panel event at EPFL in Lausanne with other STEM advocates and business leaders. Laura is also the Credit Suisse Champion for Million Women Mentors – which strives to build the global number of volunteers and mentors driving girls toward future STEM ambitions and careers. FIRM PROFILE It all began with Swiss railroads in 1856. When the country needed to finance the expansion of its rail network, the forerunner to Credit Suisse was founded. We have since turned into an integrated bank operating in more than 50 countries around the world. Credit Suisse’s story stretches back to July 5, 1856, when the prominent politician, business leader, and pioneer Alfred Escher founded “Schweizerische Kreditanstalt.”The original purpose of the newbank known asSKAwas to finance the expansion of the railroad network as well as the further industrialization of Switzerland. Fourteen years later, the bank’s first foreign representative office opened up in New York. In 1905, the bank’s first branch outside Zurich opened in Basel following the acquisition of Oberrheinische Bank. What started off as a Swiss investment bank turned into a success story spanning over the next century and a half, with Credit Suisse gradually evolving into a leading global provider of financial services. This development has been achieved through strong organic growth, supplemented by a series of significant mergers and acquisitions such as that of the US investment bank CS First Boston in 1990, the Swiss private bank Bank Leu in 1990, Switzerland’s fourth largest bank – Volksbank – in 1993, the Brazilian wealth manager Hedging-Griffo in 2007, and Morgan Stanley’s wealth management businesses in Europe, Middle East, and Africa in 2013 to cite a few of the more recent deals. This has involved the amalgamation of very different cultures, philosophies, and spheres of specialist knowledge, which has resulted in the creation of a strong integrated bank. As of 2006, the bank began operating as a globally active integrated universal bank providing comprehensive solutions to our clients in private banking, investment banking, and asset management. See how we structure and manage our company and meet our corporate responsibilities. Learn about our background and sponsorship activities. Meet our leaders and read the latest on what’s happening at Credit Suisse. Our strategy builds on Credit Suisse’s core strengths: its position as a leading wealth manager, its specialist investment banking capabilities and its strong presence in our home market of Switzerland. We seek to follow a balanced approach to wealth management, aiming to capitalize on both the large pool of wealth within mature markets as well as the significant growth in wealth in Asia Pacific and other emerging markets, while also serving key developed markets with an emphasis on Switzerland. www.credit-suisse.com