Canton native named to American Banker’s ‘Women to Watch’ list

For the past 36 years, Maria Tedesco has been forging her path as a woman in banking and taking care to pave the way for women navigating the finance industry. Now, Atlantic Union Bank’s trailblazing president and chief operating officer has been named to American Banker’s 2024 Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance: Women to Watch list.

Maria Tedesco

“It’s humbling to see my name included on a list full of outstanding female leaders in banking,” said Tedesco, a Canton native. “As leaders, we move at the pace of our industry, so it’s not often we stop and reflect on the work we do every day, but, as women, we’re highly aware that our success is as much for ourselves as it is for those who come after us. The women who I’m delighted to share this distinction with are proof that we can all look forward to a very bright future.”

As president and COO, Tedesco leads all revenue businesses of Atlantic Union Bank, including consumer and business banking, wholesale banking, wealth management, and home loans, as well as key support functions including enterprise technology, operations, marketing, first line risk and business intelligence. Her dedication to the areas she leads has uniquely positioned her as a champion for cultivating the organization’s award-winning culture, which has earned Atlantic Union Bank a place on both USA Today and the Richmond Times Dispatch’s Top Workplaces lists.

In spring 2024, she executed the successful acquisition of American National Bank and Trust, making Atlantic Union Bank the first merger in the banking industry since the bank failures of the previous year. Throughout the merger, Tedesco made people as much of a priority as the work itself, retaining 80 percent of the American National Bank and Trust workforce.

As a female industry leader who has worked tirelessly over the years to build relationships and be at the forefront of change, she believes the biggest challenge women in financial services face is growing from an entry-level position to a leadership role. Her call to action for everyone across the financial space is to find ways to be an ally and actively seek opportunities to lift people up and make space for others so that everyone shares in the success.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Oct 18 2024. Filed under Business. Both comments and pings are currently closed.