Witad Awards 2024: Technology innovator of the year (end-user)—Laura Hamilton, Bank of America

What is your position within your firm?
Laura Hamilton: Global head of corporate treasury, credit risk, climate risk, and financial forecasting technology, Bank of America.

How long have you been working in the financial services industry?
Hamilton: Over 20 years. I’ve worked for three large financial institutions, including Bank of America across various business lines. Additionally, I have fintech consulting and technology start-up experience.

How did you get into the industry? Was it a conscious decision or did you “fall” into it?
Hamilton: I have a business degree and was fortunate to find my passion for technology early in my career. My career began in financial services working in credit risk management, focused on data, analytics, and management information systems. This allowed me to understand the workings of the company across the businesses and the industry and led to me gaining a diverse set of technical roles. As someone who has a deep love for learning and creating innovative solutions, my experiences developed my ability to understand different businesses/products and how technology can be a strategic differentiator. Throughout my career in technology, I’ve been able to continuously learn and grow within the businesses and my leadership roles.

My journey has always been about leveraging technology, not just solving complex problems, but to do so in ways that are meaningful, transformative, and wide-reaching. This award underscores the importance of inclusive leadership and the incredible results that can be achieved when everyone is empowered to share/challenge ideas and work toward common goals.

What does your day-to-day role entail?
Hamilton: I’m an enthusiastic technologist and people leader who enjoys the fast-paced, changing business and technology environment. My day-to-day activities span solutioning with line-of-business teams to deliver on transformative plans, creating and innovating with technical teams, and working alongside control partners and firm leadership. Daily, my team and I begin with working to answer how our work can further our company’s ability to support our clients’ financial journey.

What single project/piece of work are you most proud of during your career in the industry to date?
Hamilton: I’m most proud of the talented individuals I’ve have the pleasure to work with. I am particularly proud of a strategic component-based library that is continually updated to support our ability to build enterprise solutions more quickly, while maintaining quality. Fostering a technical community that contributes ideas and expanded capabilities provides us with the ability to draw upon a diverse set of experiences and the collective scale of our developer community to provide innovative solutions.

What are you currently working on and what makes it significant in the context of your position?
Hamilton: We are working to redefine the definition of systems, which spans data management, model execution, and deep analytics to embed common business capabilities across an end-to-end solution at scale and speed. We are working now to transform the data management aspects driving quality and efficiency. We focus on delivering business solutions while creating reusable technology and enterprise platforms that both meet the current and fast-paced changing environment.

My journey has always been about leveraging technology, not just solving complex problems, but to do so in ways that are meaningful, transformative, and wide-reaching. This award underscores the importance of inclusive leadership and the incredible results that can be achieved when everyone is empowered to share/challenge ideas and work toward common goals

To what extent were you helped during your career by a mentor/role model within the business?
Hamilton: I value partnerships and relationships and work hard to make sure that they are a two-way street. I’ve been lucky to work with some amazing executives who have been generous with their time and candid when helping me frame complex projects and navigate organizational challenges as well as celebrate accomplishments. I’ve been there for them during their challenges and accomplishments too. It is like a mutual counseling session when it works.

To what extent does your firm have a formalized framework that seeks to identify and promote talented women and ensure they have every opportunity to realize their ambitions and contribute to the business?
Hamilton: Our company is dedicated to ensuring all employees have the tools and support to navigate their career. This includes:

• Our in-house academy’s skills training courses.
• Tuition support to take local college and university classes.
• The bank’s 11 employee networks with more than 280 chapters, which provides the ability to connect with other employees at all levels outside of normal business routine to meet new people and grow personally and professionally.

What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome during your career in the industry to date?
Hamilton: Rather than an obstacle, I’ll share a learning: You are the captain of your ship. Don’t wait for someone to bring you your next growth opportunity. Think about and research what you’d like to learn or do next and work toward it, while working hard and delivering in your current role. Speak to your manager about your goals, meet people in that area if it is outside your current one.

What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned so far during your career?
Hamilton: Some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned are to:

• Perform brilliantly (delivery is table stakes)
• Find your passion (once you have this, everything else falls into place)
• Be a positive, good energy (a can-do attitude makes you approachable to help solve the toughest problems)
• Find an environment with a diverse set of perspectives and great collaborators to help you thrive and grow

What would you advise women just entering the industry?
Hamilton: This award is a beacon of what is possible. It is a call to action, especially for women in technology and finance, to pursue their passions, to seek out teams and environments that uplift them, and to never underestimate the power of collaboration and diversity of thought in driving change. Be yourself, be confident, but take the time to gather strong role models and mentors who go beyond a transactional conversation.

What does this award mean to you?
Hamilton: It is an incredible honor that fills me with a sense of pride, gratitude, and excitement for the future. This recognition is beyond a personal achievement—it is also a testament to the creativity and hard work of an incredible team that I’ve had the privilege to build, lead, mentor, and collaborate with. Innovation requires a set of diverse perspectives, an opportunistic outlook, and a culture of the “art of the possible.”