Ann Marie Halter, Regulatory Risk and Oversight Manager, Northern Trust, won Excellence in Risk Management at Markets Media Group’s 2024 Women in Finance (U.S.) Awards.

What is your reaction to winning the Award?

I am humbled to be recognized amongst such talented women and appreciative of Markets Media for organizing an event that recognizes Women in Finance. When learning of the award, I couldn’t help but reflect on all of the women who have helped shape my career. Early on, I was inspired by female senior managers who seemed to be able to balance a successful career and a family. Further in my career, what I learned was that their success wasn’t as much of a balance as it was a pendulum that swung from one direction to another depending on the circumstances. And having confidence that the pendulum would always come back to the center was what kept them motivated. I am thankful for these lessons they shared that shaped how I have managed my career. I only hope I can inspire young female talent in the same way.

What inspired you to pursue a career in finance/risk management?

A challenging derivatives course in college first inspired me to pursue a career in finance. I remember my professor’s animated lecture on how you could make money “guessing” on a stock’s performance by placing puts or calls. Entering the industry, however, I had no idea how complicated derivatives really were! Fast forward 28 years, I have learned more about financial instruments, market structure, and the regulations that govern markets than I ever would have imagined. The global credit crisis of 2008, and the ensuing onslaught of regulations, reinforced my interest in risk management. If there was something that could be done to prevent another massive market collapse, I wanted to be a part of it.

Have you had any mentors who’ve guided you along the way? What’s the best advice they’ve given you?

I’ve been extremely fortunate to have a number of excellent mentors who have guided me along my career journey. Of all the excellent pieces of advice I’ve received, my favorite is to shine by reflective light. This advice has shaped aspects of my professional and personal lives. As a manager, I support my team and provide them with the opportunities to shine so we can all succeed. As an individual, it helps ground me in the choices I make.

What risk management trends do you find most exciting, and how do you see them shaping the industry in the next few years?

I am fascinated by the growing trends in managing resiliency. At its core, the concept is extremely simple: continue to offer your services without disruption. However, in practice it can be extremely complex and a lack of resiliency poses systemic risk to the financial market place. Just this past summer the industry experienced a 10-hour cloud service disruption that opened our eyes to new vulnerabilities as cloud-based tools and databases proliferate. Our clients and our regulators expect us to learn from recent events and implement preventative measures to avoid or lessen the impact of unplanned events. These expectations will drive how we manage our businesses in the future.