The inspiration for this year’s most influential women list is Dame Susan Rice, the banker, former Bank of England director, an economic advisor and member of the First Minister’s Council of Economic Advisers, and a prolific non-executive director.
She was in sparkling form recently at the Executive Women in Leadership (EWIL) 10-year anniversary gala dinner in Edinburgh speaking in a panel along with Dr Lesley Sawers, the former Scotland Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Sarah Millar, the chief executive of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), and Ruth Davidson, now Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links.
She recalled: “On my first day as CEO of Lloyds TSB Scotland in 2000, to my amazement, I was accosted at the office by innumerable journalists and media folk saying:
‘What an accomplishment to be the first woman ever to run a UK bank. What does that feel like?’
“I was non-plussed because my goal wasn’t to become the ‘first woman’ but to make a success of the job and I’d only just started.”
She suggested they come back in three years’ time and judge then if it was an ‘accomplishment’ or not. “I then had hundreds of emails, mostly from women in other banks or in professional services, saying what it meant to them to have a woman in my role.” That was the birth of a burgeoning sense of responsibility to women in finance in general.
Dame Susan says it’s heartening to see the range of roles and breadth of areas of finance on our 2026 list. It speaks of success, accomplishment, and achievement. It is noteworthy, she adds, that women have direct responsibility for profit. Dame Susan, who turned 80 this year, is still active today, as a non-executive director and, more importantly, an inspiration and mentor for female executives.
“It’s one thing for more women to hold senior roles in finance; it’s another when those roles span what is often seen as the most coveted responsibility of profit-making … Finance is made up of numbers, but the challenge is putting it to work for the economy and society.
“Women may find it more appealing and more interesting to look through that lens because we’ve been later to positions of power. That gives a kind of freedom to do it a little differently. Maybe that’s the responsibility I sensed 26 years ago,” she concludes.
Well said and many thanks, Dame Susan.
Many more women are at the very top of their professions. In the last 25 years there has been a sea-change with smart and capable women in senior leadership positions. What has been most heartening is the cohort of influential women in finance.
Back in 2002, I was editing a Scottish Sunday newspaper’s business pages and we created a top 50 women in business list. We singled out Susan Rice, then head of Lloyds TSB Scotland, as our number one in that list. When Susan Rice moved to Bank of Scotland as one of its leading figures, she invited all of the women in the list to a Women in Business reception at the Mound in Edinburgh. Dame Susan remains an inspiration and mentor for female executives.
This year a panel of business figures has selected Dame Debbie Crosbie, the head of Nationwide, as The Business’s most influential woman in Scottish finance for 2026.
In a gracious response, Crosbie said: “Scotland’s financial services sector has always been about more than numbers. At its best, it supports families, backs businesses, creates skilled jobs and helps communities plan for the future.
“I grew up and studied in Glasgow and spent much of my career in Scottish banks. I saw first-hand the difference financial services can make, and I was fortunate to learn from people who gave me confidence, challenged me and opened doors.
“I also saw the impact of talented, determined women across the sector — women who brought judgement, empathy and resilience, and who made the organisations around them better.
“As my career has taken me beyond Scotland, I continue to meet Scottish women in leadership roles across many industries. Again and again, they point to the work ethic, pragmatism, resilience and sense of responsibility shaped by their Scottish roots.
“Scotland has the talent, heritage and ambition to remain a major force in financial services. Its future will be stronger if more people from every background are encouraged and supported.
Our responsibility now is to make sure more women have the opportunity and encouragement to progress, lead and shape the next chapter.
— Dame Debbie Crosbie
“Our responsibility now is to make sure more women have the opportunity and encouragement to progress, lead and shape the next chapter.”
Crosbie’s inspirational message should be allowed to resonate with women and men across Scotland.
The Business is happy to salute these and every other influential woman promoting ethical and sustainable finance in Scotland and further afield.
1. Dame Debbie Crosbie DBE
Group chief executive of Nationwide.
Crosbie manages Nationwide, a national UK financial giant, and the world’s largest mutual financial institution.
Crosbie, who was born in Glasgow, joined Nationwide Building Society in 2022 after serving as chief executive of TSB. She has made 177 Bothwell Street in Glasgow her Scottish base, with around 3,000 people employed in Scotland following Nationwide’s acquisition of Virgin Money.
She previously spent more than 20 years at Clydesdale Bank, where she held roles including chief operating officer, before becoming an executive director of CYBG Group.
2. Sue Dawe
Chair of Scottish Financial Enterprise & EY’s managing partner.
Dawe is chair of Scottish Financial Enterprise and EY’s managing partner for Scotland, having been with EY for 38 years specialising in wealth and asset management. A patron of Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF), she supports the development of women’s careers across the sector alongside her senior leadership roles.
3. Judith Cruickshank
Chief operating officer at Royal Bank of Scotland
Cruickshank is chief operating officer of Royal Bank of Scotland for the retail bank. She also chairs the bank’s Scotland Board, part of NatWest. Prior to taking up the role on 1 January 2026, she was regional managing director for Scotland, commercial mid-market and institutional banking.
4. Dr Lena Wilson CBE FRSE
Former chief executive of Scottish Enterprise and chair of FirstGroup plc.
Wilson is the former chief executive of Scottish Enterprise. She has been a non-executive board member of Royal Bank of Scotland and a senior independent director on the NatWest board during the bank’s re-emergence from state ownership. She is also chair of FirstGroup plc.
5. Angela Byrne
Chief executive officer of Standard Life plc.
Byrne is CEO of pensions and savings at Standard Life. Byrne joined Standard Life’s Pensions & Savings business in January. Phoenix Group plc changed its name to Standard Life plc on 2 March 2026. Byrne joined from NatWest where she was interim CEO of the retail bank.
6. Amy Atack
Joint managing partner at Baillie Gifford.
Atack is chief of staff for equities at Baillie Gifford. She joined Baillie Gifford in 2004, became a partner in 2018 and was appointed one of three managing partners in 2024. Her work includes shaping the development and direction of the staff and investment teams.
7. Emma Noble
Group director, compliance, conduct and operational risk at Lloyds Banking Group.
Noble is group director conduct, compliance and operational risk (CCOR) with Lloyds Banking Group. Noble joined the bank in 2014, and has held a number of CCOR roles leading oversight of key technology programmes. In January 2026, Noble was appointed chair of Lloyds Banking Group’s Scottish executive committee.
8. Angela McCann
Managing director at Morgan Stanley.
McCann is a managing director at Morgan Stanley and head of the Glasgow office, one of the US firm’s largest strategic locations. She also serves as Head of Glasgow Finance, with responsibility for senior leadership, governance and strategic oversight across the business, supporting its growth and operations in Scotland.
9. Angela Mitchell
Senior partner for Scotland & Northern Ireland at Deloitte.
Mitchell is senior partner for Scotland and Northern Ireland at Deloitte. She works with clients across a wide range of sectors, including financial services, and leads the firm’s government and public services practice in Scotland, advising organisations on complex challenges and opportunities.
10. Elizabeth Gammie
Vice president of ICAS, and emeritus professor at Robert Gordon University.
Gammie is a qualified chartered accountant, an emeritus professor at Robert Gordon University, where she was head of the accounting department, vice president of ICAS, and the former Dean of Aberdeen Business School. She has extensive experience in accountancy education and leadership.
11. Gail Boag
Chief executive officer at ICAS.
Boag is the CEO of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). She is a former dean of Edinburgh Napier’s Business School and was regional director of Scotland for BT. Boag has led ICAS’ recent transformation of the CA syllabus for Scotland’s future chartered accountants and the wider profession.
12. Jane Henderson
Managing director of Walter Scott & Partners
Henderson is managing director of Walter Scott & Partners, based in Edinburgh, and an investment wing of Bank of New York (BNY). Henderson, who joined in 1995, co-chaired the investment management group before becoming managing director in 2010.
13. Claire Reid
PwC UK’s chief technology and innovation officer.
Reid is PwC UK’s chief technology and innovation officer. Reid is responsible for shaping the firm’s UK’s technology and innovation agenda. She led the firm’s UK risk advisory practice, dealing with cyber security and technology risk and sits on PwC UK’s executive committee.
14. Deborah Walker
Head of Tesco Bank.
Walker became Head of Tesco Bank, now part of Barclays, in June 2026, having joined the business in 2017. She has held several senior roles, including chief risk officer at Barclays. A Chartered Banker, she serves as a charity trustee and fintech non-executive director.
15. Susan Hope
Business development director at Scottish Widows.
Hope is a business development director at Scottish Widows and a chartered financial planner, who specialising in workplace pensions and retirement planning. She is a leading industry spokesperson on the gender pension gap, highlighting the financial challenges women face across pay, pensions, investing and career breaks.
16. Alison Morris
Chief risk officer at Aegon UK.
Morris is chief risk officer at Aegon UK, which provides pensions, retirement savings and investment solutions. An actuary by profession, she joined the company in 2019 as chief internal auditor, leading that function across the business. Her background combines actuarial expertise with experience in audit and risk oversight.
17. Marianne Zangerl
Global head of multi-asset & alternative investment solutions at Aberdeen.
Zangerl is global head of multi-asset and alternative solutions at Aberdeen Investments. Over more than ten years with the firm, she has held senior roles including deputy global head of fixed income and head of ESG. Her career spans investment strategy across asset classes and approaches to responsible investing.
18. Louisa Knox
Partner and head of pensions at Shepherd and Wedderburn.
Knox is a partner and head of pensions at Shepherd and Wedderburn. An experienced solicitor specialising in financial services, she advises on pensions matters and is a member of the ICAS pensions committee. Her work brings together legal expertise and an understanding of the issues facing pension schemes and their sponsors.
19. Lynn Kane
Chief people officer at Nationwide Building Society.
Kane is group chief people officer at Nationwide Building Society. A former Clydesdale Bank director in Glasgow, she was a non-executive director of the Leeds Building Society. She has a central role in the consolidation of Virgin Money with Nationwide. She is a non-executive director of the Beatson Cancer Charity.
20. Karen Scholes
Director of Scholes Chartered Accountants and president of ICAS.
Scholes was president of the ICAS board in 2025. She is a partner at Scholes Chartered Accountants, which has 36 staff across offices in Kirkwall, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Her leadership of both a professional body and a Scottish accountancy firm gives her a perspective on the profession’s opportunities and challenges.
21. Lorna Blyth
Managing director of investment propositions at Aegon UK.
Blyth manages the Aegon UK investment propositions team based in Edinburgh. Previously, she was head of investment solutions at Royal London. Her experience spans the development and oversight of investment offerings, giving her insight into how providers design propositions to meet the changing needs of advisers and their customers.
22. Yasmin Nabi
Head of large corporate Scotland at Barclays.
Nabi is head of large corporate Scotland, Barclays. Nabi has been with the bank for over 20 years, after graduating in finance at the University of Stirling. She works with family-owned, private and listed companies, supporting their funding and growth ambitions. She also mentors entrepreneurs and supports emerging founders.
23. Margaret McCaig
Head of compliance, finance crime, conduct and legal audit at HSBC.
McCaig is head of compliance, finance crime, conduct and legal audit at HSBC. As an experienced non-executive director who has been a board member of Skills Development Scotland for over eight years, McCaig brings her experience in financial services and governance to the organisation’s work on Scotland’s skills.
24. Jackie Leiper
Former managing director at Lloyds Banking Group/ Scottish Widows.
Leiper is a former senior figure with Lloyds Banking Group/Scottish Widows for workplace and individual pensions, and investment. She is a deputy chair of Scottish Financial Enterprise and a non-executive director of People’s Partnership, a pension provider with £40bn in assets.
25. Alison McGregor
Former CEO of HSBC Scotland.
McGregor is the former CEO of HSBC Scotland, former chair of CBI Scotland. She is now chair of the Malcolm Group, the logistics and construction company. McGregor has also served as a non-executive director of the Scottish Football Association. Her career spans banking, business representation, sport and the leadership of a major Scottish company.
26. Gillian Murray
Executive director and team lead for Scotland at JP Morgan Private Bank.
Gillian Murray is a director and team lead for Scotland at JP Morgan Private Bank. Before joining the firm, she was a divisional director at RBC Brewin Dolphin. Her senior roles in wealth management have centred on Scotland, where she brings experience from two major financial services firms to leading JP Morgan’s team.
27. Shelley Morrison
Head of private credit and fund finance at Aberdeen Investments.
Morrison is head of private credit and fund finance at Aberdeen Investments. She has more than 21 years’ experience in private credit and structured finance, and has led Aberdeen’s fund finance strategy since 2019. Previously, she worked in fund finance at RBS and structured asset finance at RBS and Lloyds.
28. Arlene Ewing
Managing director of Anderson Strathern Asset Management.
Ewing is managing director of Anderson Strathern Asset Management and a past president for Scotland of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment(CISI). She brings leadership experience from both the investment management industry and its professional body, with a focus on the standards and expertise that underpin financial advice.
29. Katie Murray
Group chief financial officer at NatWest Group.
Murray is group chief financial officer of NatWest Group, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland. A chartered accountant with more than 30 years’ experience, she joined the group in 2015 and became CFO in 2019. Her previous roles there include director of finance and deputy chief financial officer.
30. Kate Fox
Investment manager and partner at Baillie Gifford.
Fox is investment manager and partner at Baillie Gifford. A joint founder of its Positive Change Team, she helps identify companies with the potential to generate investment returns and address social or environmental challenges. She joined Baillie Gifford in 2002 and became a partner in 2020.
31. Judy Wagner
Co-founder of FWB and executive in women leadership (EWIL) programme.
Wagner is one of the founders of FWB, the executive search and selection company. She trained as a chartered accountant and was instrumental in setting up the Executive Women in Leadership (EWIL) programme with Professor Susan Murphy at the University of Edinburgh Business School. The programme has since expanded to be gender-inclusive and is now called the Executive Leadership Programme (ELP).
[Read the recent article on the programme here.]
32. Lynne Walker
Chief executive of Johnston Carmichael.
Walker is chief executive of Johnston Carmichael, one of Scotland’s leading independent accountancy and advisory firms. Based in Inverness, she has spent much of her career with the business. As it celebrates its 90th anniversary, she is looking beyond its Highland roots to the firm’s next decade and beyond.
[As Johnston Carmichael celebrates its 90th anniversary, chief executive Lynne Walker reflects on the firm’s heritage, evolution and ambitions for its next decade and beyond in The Business’s recent interview.]
33. Susan Rowand
Head of corporate banking for Scotland & Northern Ireland, HSBC UK.
Susan Rowand is head of corporate banking for Scotland and Northern Ireland at HSBC UK Bank Plc. She has been with HSBC since 1997, leading various teams across the bank’s commercial operations before becoming head of business banking. Rowand’s career has centred on supporting businesses through financing, growth and changing market conditions.
34. Lauren McCluskey
Head of office of the CFO and partner at AAB.
McCluskey is head of office of the CFO for AAB and is based in Aberdeen. She works with international groups, AIM-listed companies other businesses, providing finance leadership where they need additional capacity or expertise. Her work includes management reporting, setting performance measures and supporting transactions and board decisions.
35. Dame Susan Rice, DBE FRSE
Former head of Lloyds TSB Scotland and Bank of Scotland.
Rice, who turned 80 this year, is the former chief executive, managing director and chair of Lloyds TSB Scotland. A business veteran who has been a trailblazer for women in finance over the past 25 years, she was the first woman to lead a UK clearing bank. Her subsequent senior roles in finance and public life have made her iconic in Scottish banking for future generations of financiers. She remains the inspiration for this year’s list.
This article is featured in the Autumn 2026 edition of The Business magazine.
Distributed with The Sunday Times Scotland.
Scotland’s 35 most influential women in finance for 2026
Led by Nationwide chief executive Dame Debbie Crosbie DBE
35 most influential women in finance in Scotland
