Two U.S. Bank leaders – Angela Ratliff and Anu Somani – are among the 2021 class of honorees for the Next award, recognizing high-achieving women and bringing more visibility to the industry leaders of tomorrow 

Ratliff was honored with American Banker’s Most Powerful Women in Banking: Next award, and Somani was part of PaymentsSource’s inaugural Most Influential Women in Payments: Next recognition. 

Both women work in Payment Services, the division of U.S. Bank that provides digital and card-based payment and money movement capabilities to consumers, businesses, and institutions of all sizes in North America and Europe. 

Angela Ratliff is a senior vice president and global head of disputes and prepaid operations, which handles disputes for credit, debit, and prepaid cardholders, as well as merchants. Her team processes more than 3 million claims per year while continuously working to improve customer experience and operational efficiency. 

Anu Somani is a senior vice president and head of faster payments and payment innovation for the bank’s Corporate Payment and Treasury Solutions business. She’s responsible for setting the strategic vision and roadmap execution of two payment innovation studios intent on creating customer-centered products and capabilities by disrupting the process of product development in banks. 

“The way consumers and businesses move money and make payments has changed dramatically in recent years, and that change will continue for years to come,” said Shailesh Kotwal, vice chair of U.S. Bank Payment Services. “The expertise and drive that Angela and Anu bring to their roles will help lead us into tomorrow by inspiring their teams and to deliver material value to our customers.” 

U.S. Bank was among 70 companies that signed the Catalyst CEO Champions for Change Pledge in 2019, a commitment to accelerate and advance more women in senior leadership. This work includes benchmarking, developing metrics and improving the culture of inclusion to increase the number of women, and women of color, on company boards.