CoB Recognizes Distinguished Alumni at Awards Banquet
College of Business
SUMMARY: CoB '82 graduate Maribeth Herod is being recognized at the 3rd annual Alumni Awards Banquet, a University-wide gathering of all seven colleges that honor alumni who have made exemplary contributions in their profession.
Herod’s career in business might not have happened if she hadn’t taken a BASIC computer programming class as a JMU nursing major. “I was taking a lot of science classes and was having to memorize the periodic chart. When I took the business and programming class, it came very naturally to me. My decision to pursue it was in some way the path of least resistance.”
That path led her to a B.B.A. from JMU, and eventually to her current position as Senior Vice President, Operation Risk Executive, Enterprise Fraud with Bank of America. For Herod, keeping up on new developments and innovation in her industry is important. “Cryptocurrency is a big topic in the finance industry. How do we mitigate the risk in the environment? It is an ongoing discussion, and it will evolve over time based on the pervasiveness and use of that kind of currency. We do not deal in them right now, but our customers want to invest and part of our corporation is dealing with investments.”
As a risk and fraud executive, Herod understands the importance of integrity in the workplace. “Ethics is foundational,” she says. “I have left positions because people around me were acting in unethical ways, and I did not want to be associated with it. To me ethics is the heart of operating. I applaud and respect the fact that JMU has courses available for students to understand and recognize ethical reasoning.”
Herod takes pride in her alma matter, and remains engaged with JMU. She is now a member of the Board of Visitors, and previously sat as chairwoman of the JMU College of Business Executive Advisory Council, now known as the Board of Advisors. She was also a speaker at the CoB commencement ceremony in 2014. “I have enriched my life by being as engaged as I have been. The faculty, the students and being able to help in any way I can has been incredibly rewarding.”
About the award, Herod says, “I am very humbled by the honor. I don’t give back because I want the acknowledgement, I give back because I get a lot out of it.”
