Every year, American Banker honors the most powerful women in banking. The prestigious award honors individuals and teams that demonstrate exceptional leadership skills and strong business performance. The women who are honored each year must also demonstrate real outcomes in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the financial services industry.
This year, a team of eight women from TD Bank has been recognized by American Banker as being among the Most Powerful Women in Banking: Top Teams for their achievements over the last year.
During the Most Powerful Women in Banking Gala in New York on October 5th, these women were honored for their perseverance, strong leadership skills, and innovative ideas that benefit the banking industry.
- Courtney Mitchell, Head of Consumer Deposit & Payment Products (CDPP)
- Angeline Arumainayagam, Head of CDPP Revenue Management
- Angel Kadelski, Head of CDPP Operations & Product Management
- Ankana Carpenter, Head of Consumer Deposit Technology
- Kelly D'Alessandro, Consumer Bank CFO
- Dana Davis, Head of Customer Marketing Strategy
- Stephanie Rainero, Head of Product Marketing
- Hong Bloom, former Head of CDPP Growth and Engagement
The dream team
In 2022, TD Bank restructured the Consumer Deposit and Payment Products (CDPP) leadership team when the Head of CDPP resigned, leaving leadership to the four department heads: Courtney Mitchell, Head of CDPP, Angeline Arumainayagam, Head of CDPP Revenue Management, Angel Kadelski, Head of CDPP Operations & Product Management, and Hong Bloom, former Head of CDPP Growth and Engagement.
The team implemented overdraft changes, as well as other significant projects, with help from partners in Marketing (Dana Davis and Stephanie Rainero), Technology (Ankana Carpenter) and Finance (Kelly D'Alessandro) that lead to sweeping customer and policy upgrades. They also credit support from Matt Boss, Head of Consumer Products and their CDPP colleagues in leadership, Matt Ashe, John Bunzel and Kedar Rindani, in their success.
The women on the team have diverse backgrounds, both professionally and personally. Several team members are women of color and are working mothers.
The team finds strength in their diversity. “This allows us to bring different elements for consideration, as well as fresh perspectives to the table,” Courtney says, adding that TD Bank encourages their employees to bring “our whole self to perform at our best.”
An exceptional approach to leading
Each of the women on the team is accomplished, but their talents are amplified when they work as a team. “There is a high level of trust and respect for one another…which allows us to challenge one another within the team, engage in healthy debates that lead us to the best path forward,” Courtney says.
All the women on the team recognize the importance of collaborating closely with others who work at TD Bank.
“As leaders, building trust is foundational to effective collaboration. The fact that we could "phone a friend" to anyone across the bank without hesitation is a true testament to the relationships this team built and how the "one TD" approach works,” explains Ankana Carpenter, Head of Consumer Deposit Technology. "People equate "cross-functional" to "complex," but for us, cross-functional meant we could rely on each other's teams to fully assess situations and hurdles from all angles and make decisions. And that was key for success."
The team remains strong, but also open-minded to collaboration and teamwork, understanding they achieve more when working together.
Ushering in change
At TD Bank, the CDPP team oversees every aspect of the bank’s deposit products, which includes a significant list of responsibilities. Product development, business analysis, sales strategies and support, customer experience and engagement, driving portfolio growth, getting products to market, efficiency, profitability, and customer experience are all a part of what the team works on every day.
The CDPP team has ushered TD Bank through several changes in a short period of time. These changes have benefited both the bank and its customers.
One of the most significant changes is an overhaul of how the bank handles overdrafts. Under the CDPP’s team leadership, TD Bank implemented several initiatives to protect customers from overdraft fees, including alerting customers in real-time when they are at risk of an overdraft, implementing a grace period for customers who are overdrawn, and eliminating some fees related to overdraft protection.
Since TD Bank implemented these changes, customers have saved more than $822 million in overdraft fees and customer complaints about overdrafts plummeted by 80%. The team also helped launch other initiatives, which have grown to more than $14 billion in deposits.
The success of these programs is an example of what is possible when a company truly enforces employee work and life harmony.
What’s next for the team?
The CDPP team has big plans for the future. Next, the team is focused on adding further value to products and services, such as rolling out early access to paychecks, and they're set to enhance TD's checking product suite.
The CDPP team is poised for continued success. The team emphasizes that because TD Bank has encouraged them to integrate their personal and professional lives, they have been able to lead “with compassion and understanding.” This is so important to the team’s success because they believe “we all work harder and do better when we are able to be our authentic selves."
TD Bank’s commitment to women
TD Bank is known for its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The bank encourages employees and customers alike to “come as you are.” The bank has several programs to encourage diversity in the workplace to ensure that all their employees have the support they need to succeed.
One of these programs is focused on ensuring women have the tools they need to hold leadership positions. Under this program, TD Bank has hosted over 100 Women in Leadership events and has donated over $1 million to women’s initiatives each year.
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