Photo: Courtesy of American Express

American Express’ Anna Marrs, Group President of Global Commercial Services and Credit & Fraud Risk, has been recognized for the third year in a row on Barron’s 2023 list of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance. The list honors women who have achieved positions of prominence in the financial-services industry and are shaping its future.

Marrs is responsible for the company’s commercial business, including corporate and business card programs, B2B payments, working capital, and spend management businesses serving millions of small, mid-sized, large, and global companies around the world. Additionally, Marrs oversees the team that oversees credit quality and fraud controls for American Express business and consumer products globally.

Marrs said, “Leading with an innovation agenda has been central to our strategy as we continue to help businesses navigate the ever-evolving economy. We have made great strides expanding capabilities to provide broader business-to-business payments and working capital.”

Now based in New York, Marrs is an international leader with a global perspective, having lived and worked in several countries. Starting in fintech, Marrs went on to lead global banking strategy and transformation, commercial banking, and private banking at some of the world’s top companies. She also serves as co-chair of the International Advisory Board for non-profit organization British American Business, sits on London Business School’s Governing Body, and is Amex’s U.S. executive chair for Give2Gether, our annual campaign encouraging colleagues to donate to a charity of their choice, with the company then matching the contribution.

Since joining American Express in 2018, Marrs has focused on adding more value to our membership model to meet customers’ evolving needs as they manage through business cycles. Under Marrs’ leadership, Amex has landed as No. 1 in the J.D. Power U.S. Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study for two consecutive years.

Over the past year, Marrs and her team have supported our global and large corporate customers as they return to travel and expanded capabilities for small businesses with the launch of American Express Business Blueprint™, a platform that helps business owners better manage their cash flow with a series of digital products in one place..

For a recent interview with Barron’s as part of her recognition, she shared how the company is looking to further invest in innovation-driven products and capabilities – and how she is empowered to continue to lead this journey:

“When I think about our strategy – whether it’s this year or into the future – there’s a series of long-term structural trends that are going to persist beyond whatever we face with the business cycle and a big one for us is the digitalization of business payments. We’ve often cited the fact that 40% of all small business payments in the U.S. are still made via paper check¹. And so we’ve been both benefiting from the digitalization of those payments as these businesses move to using our products, and also helping our small business customers take advantage of that through automating and digitizing their accounts payable capabilities.” said Marrs.

When asked what motivates her, Marrs said, “I love my job. The advice I tend to give to colleagues is that your career is a huge part of your life. Find something that you love and make it an adventure. Take risks and challenge yourself.”

“Bet on yourself. The people around you may tell you it’s too risky, but if you look back on all you have achieved so far, it’s likely you’ll be successful in your next role,” she added.

To view Marrs’ profile on Barron’s 2023 list of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance, visit here.

¹ eMarketer, How Innovators are Setting about capturing the prize share of a $27 trillion marketing, 2021