Pub. 5 2015 Issue 4

Give us a basic timeline of your career path. While an undergraduate, I began working in the investment management world. I continued in invest- ment management and worked on the personal side of the industry by helping clients and their families understand complex financial situations. Next, I worked for a wire house and, later, I began my banking career working in securities. Later, as my business diversified, I moved fully into wealth management, which included banking. I joined Comerica Bank in 2006 and eventually became Arizona Regional Man- ager for Comerica’s Wealth Management business. In Wealth Management, we serve high net worth individuals, founda- tions and corporations through wealth planning, private banking, brokerage, personal and institutional trust services, investments and insurance services. In 2013, my duties expanded as I also was named Comerica’s Arizona Market President. As president, I support the bank’s customer initia- tives and overall business and community development efforts across Comerica’s Retail, Business and Wealth Management lines of business. Why do you think there are so few women in the C-Suite in banking in America? I think there’s still a common misconception that “banking” means primarily “retail branch” bank- ing to students evaluating potential career paths. The hidden secrets are positions in such areas as commercial banking, private banking and investment advising. These are excellent, well-paying positions that offer significant opportunities for advancement. I believe we’re starting to see more women in finance in the last several years, and with increased industry awareness and more recruiting of women, we’ll continue to see the glass ceilings being broken. What motivates you to “give back” to the community and how do you encourage your employees to do the same? I believe we need to help the individuals and busi- nesses in communities where we live and work. It’s a core commitment of Comerica’s and I’m proud of this belief. We demonstrate our community commitment through our col- leagues’ active volunteerism. And that active involvement is something we take very seriously at Comerica. Money is important, but money coupled with feet on the street is powerful. In encouraging my employees to take part, I remind them that making Arizona a better place to live and advanc- ing the lifestyle of others benefits everyone. What do you perceive to be the greatest risk to the industry over the next several years? With so many banking services moving to the on- line world, I think we need to guard against losing personal touch with our clients. This is where the real joy of banking is—getting to know our clients well enough so that we can anticipate their needs and help them be successful. It’s extremely rewarding to serve as trusted advisor to individuals and companies. How well of a job has the banking industry done recently regarding cyber and data breach threats? The financial services industry has a deep com- mitment to cybersecurity. The financial sector constantly prepares for, and defends against, cyberattacks. Such cyberattacks impact not only financial institutions, large and small, but threaten other businesses, too, including merchants, from big box stores to mom and pop shops. As a whole, our industry has made it a priority to protect data from hactivists and other fraudsters. But, the criminals aren’t giving up, and they’re evolving and becoming more so- phisticated. As a result, we remain ever vigilant to stay ahead of them…this ramped-up approach is the new normal. Did you grow up thinking you might become a banker? No, I was actually planning on becoming a news- caster. But, I am glad I didn’t because this is a most interesting field with a great career path. Early in my career, one of my biggest challenges was being a Hispanic woman from a blue- collar family and working in a brokerage environment in the 1980s. Being “different” is not always easy. Learning to fit 1 Annette Musa 2 3 4 5 Comerica Bank, Arizona Market President and Community Leader 6 4 www.azbankers.org