THE LATEST: Last year, Ardalan created Union Bank's Commercial Credit Underwriting Center of Excellence, which combined the strength of the commercial bank's regional and centralized underwriting teams to consolidate the process under one leader. Ardalan is also leading efforts to review and implement new technologies and FinTech solutions to facilitate a faster and more effective end-to-end process from lead generation to portfolio management. In addition, she formulated a multi-year Business Banking expansion strategy and launched a Commercial Banking Advisory Council with nine team members to help guide strategic initiatives across the Commercial Bank.



BACKGROUND: Under Ardalan, the commercial-banking team services clients' needs in debt financing, depository and cash management, global trade, and foreign-currency exposure. She previously served as head of the financial institution&s middle-market banking and helped found Union Bank&s national specialized lending group. Ardalan serves on the Iranian-American Women Foundation's advisory board. She graduated from Williams College with a BS in economics and finance.



YEARS ON THE LA500: 4