Penny Pennington

As part of a multiyear transformation, Edward Jones, the largest financial services firm in the U.S. by headcount, last year announced a $1 billion investment in technology with the goal of ramping up productivity in its branches. Pennington has spent much of the past 12 months ensuring that this money trickles down to the company’s more than 15,000 local offices so that advisors can comprehensively meet their clients’ evolving needs. One example: Starting next year, a new partnership with Citi will see Edward Jones add checking and savings accounts to its portfolio of services. This long-term strategic investment is, according to the company, a factor in its profit declining 13% to $1.4 billion in 2022. In response, Pennington’s pay was cut 5% to $21.44 million last year. Meanwhile, the firm looks set to exceed its diversity goals. It originally set the target of having people of color make up 20% of leaders at its St Louis headquarters by 2025. Under Pennington, that figure is already at 19%.