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Back in the early 1990s, while a senior manager at Ernst & Young, Elizabeth Salomon was selected to be an \u201cAccounting Fellow\u201d at the\xa0OCC\xa0\u2013 the nation\u2019s primary regulator of banks. Nominated by E&Y for the prestigious post, Salomon moved to Washington DC and was soon writing policy statements that would provide guidance to bank examiners across the country. Reporting directly to the OCC\u2019s chief accountant, she quickly became a \u201cgo-between\u201d with other banking regulatory agencies as she coordinated policy development. \u201cThis was something I never expected to do and the big learning for me was that it was okay to get out of my comfort zone.\u201d Up to that point, Salomon says her career was about helping clients apply accounting rules, whereas at the OCC she was developing the rules \u2013 an exercise she credits with extending her thought process. Explains Salomon: \u201cIt was just a very different way of thinking.\u201d

Following her OCC posting, Salomon joined Bank of America where she became controller of the bank\u2019s IT and operations division. However, once more intrigued by opportunities that surfaced beyond her comfort zone Salomon jumped to a healthcare startup where as VP of finance she became the the primary architect of the company\u2019s finance function \u2013 a role that certified her leadership credentials and advance her down the path to future CFO appointments.\xa0\u2013 Jack Sweeney