Women in Listed Derivatives launches North Carolina Chapter
Charlotte, NC (August 5, 2019) Charlotte owns the title as the nation’s second largest banking center, however it lacks in providing external networking and mentoring to women across the industry. The newly formed Women in Listed Derivatives Carolina Chapter is diligently working to fill that void, and has already hosted several successful gatherings. The diversity of the women is apparent just in the firms represented to date including, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, FIS Global, Taffet Consulting, US Bank, Horizon Investments, Chicago Trading Company, AIG, Nuveen/TIAA and Ally Bank. The Chapter is looking forward to future events including volunteering together at Dress for Success, a baseball game outing, and a symposium focusing on young women leadership. To facilitate these opportunities the Chapter is proud to introduce the following committee members, Laura Taffet, Karen Rudroff, Katy Burns, April Gardner, and Taylor Jackson. These leaders were selected to further enhance the mission of the organization throughout the greater Charlotte area and are excited to promote the advancement of women in our industry.
Laura Taffet
President, CEO
Taffet Consulting
Laura Taffet is the President and CEO of Taffet Consulting. She is a technology leader in the global financial services industry with over 25 years of leadership experience. Taffet Consulting’s teams are recognized as industry-leading, having resources with years of hands on subject matter expertise and applied knowledge. She has substantial experience partnering with several of the largest global investment banks in the world, managing both large scale initiatives as well as relationships.
Prior to launching Taffet Consulting in 2011, Laura held various senior-level positions at SunGard Data Systems (now FIS). Since then, she has been working with large global investment banks and technology firms and specializing in derivatives and securities related initiatives as well as technology best practices. Most recently she joined the Advisory Council of Arcus Partners, expanding Taffet Consulting into the Big Data and Microservice cloud computing space. Laura is active in many industry groups and has a passion for diversity and women’s achievement in the financial industry. She is a co-founder of the Carolinas chapter of WILD (Women in Listed Derivatives) and Taffet Consulting is a nationally certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) diversity partner.
Karen Rudroff
Director, Global Exchange Traded Services Funding & Liquidity
Wells Fargo
Karen Rudroff is a Director in the Global Exchange Traded Services (GETS) Funding and Liquidity team and is responsible for GETS funding activities, including ensuring efficient liquidity as well as the investment of customer funds. Karen joined Wells Fargo Securities in 2012 as an Operational Risk Manager. She was responsible for the managing the first line of defense operational risk program for the GETS, Prime Services, Eastdil Secured, Funding, Capital and Liquidity and Operations lines of business.
Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Karen managed the operational risk program for the Equities and Prime Services businesses at Barclays Capital. She began her career at PwC as a capital markets auditor in the Risk Assurance and Business Advisory business.
Karen earned a B.S. in accounting and information systems at Boston College and is a Certified Public Accountant. She is a native New Yorker and currently lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and three children.
Katy Burns
Head of Client Transition Management
Wells Fargo
Katy Burns is Head of the FCM’s Client Transition Management (CTM) within the Corporate & Investment Banking group at Wells Fargo Securities. She is responsible for all activity relating to transitioning clients from the sales process to first trade. Katy joined Wells Fargo Securities in 2013 as a member of the CTM team.
Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Katy worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston, MA as a regulatory business analyst. She began her career at NewEdge as an intern in Client Services and transitioned into the customer onboarding group within the front office.
Katy earned a B.A. in sociology at DePaul University. She is originally from Chicago, IL and currently lives in Charlotte, NC with her French bulldog, Zelda.
April Gardner
Senior Analytic Specialist, Global Exchange Traded Services
Wells Fargo
April Gardner has been a Senior Analytic Specialist for Global Exchange Traded Services (GETS) since July 2015. She is responsible for the daily sales reporting, event and budget organizing, hiring and onboarding, and general business support for GETS. April originally joined Wells Fargo Securities in 2014 as an Administrative Assistant on the trading floor.
Prior to joining Wells Fargo was a project manager for a commercial sign company in Atlanta, GA , before homeschooling her children for two years.
April earned a B.A. in Corporate Communication from Queens University Charlotte. She is originally from Columbia, Maryland and currently lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and three children.
Taylor Jackson
Vice President, Global Liquidity Management
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Taylor Jackson is the lead Liability Funding liaison in Global Liquidity Management within the Chief Financial Officer group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She is responsible for developing liquidity stress testing models for the firm’s debt footprint, which inform liquidity risk appetite limits as well as the fulfillment of the firm’s living will requirements. In addition to her role, Taylor also has oversight as a co-lead on the CFO Employee Engagement Inclusion Council.
Prior to her role within the Chief Financial Officer group, Taylor worked within Global Technology and Operations, serving as a primary interface to external institutional investors with all FICC post-trade clearings.
Taylor earned a B.S. in finance and a minor in accounting at Clemson University. She is originally from South Carolina, and currently lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband.
WILD began informally in 2009 and first established its board in 2012. As a non-profit, WILD promotes career advancement and professional relationship-building among women in the OTC & Listed Derivatives Industry through social and educational events and whose mission it is to highlight and learn from industry role models, encourage career development and support the advancement of women in OTC & Listed Derivatives. More information can be found at www.womeninlistedderivatives.org.
