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haron Bowen stands on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) trading floor, surrounded by a group of college students. Moments earlier, they had watched as Bowen ’82 JD, MBA, ’23 H, on the podium overlooking the historic space, participated in the afternoon closing bell ceremony to signal the trading day’s end. As a line of visitors snakes past, the students pepper Bowen with questions. A young woman asks about imposter syndrome. The notion comes up whenever Bowen is asked about being the first woman or person of color to chair NYSE’s board of directors.

 In fact, Bowen’s career in corporate law and financial regulation comprises many firsts — moments where she broke gender or racial barriers — and she has excelled in mentoring others who hope to follow in her footsteps. “If you have a little bit of imposter syndrome, you can overcome it,” Bowen counsels. “Wear your power when you walk in the room,” she says, straightening up to demonstrate. “If you are confident in your skin, people will know that.” It’s an ethos that has served her well during her more than three decades in law and finance and now at the NYSE — where she regularly meets with company founders or CEOs, including celebrities such as tennis champion and venture capital firm founder Serena Williams. Perhaps that confidence is part of what made an impression on former President Barack Obama ’06 H, who selected Bowen for major financial regulatory roles. Before that, it likely helped propel her to the upper ranks of New York City’s elite law firms. Yet Bowen’s power rests as much in this quiet composure as in, at other moments, her ready smile, the ease with which she draws others into conversation, and her occasional wry quip.

 “The first time I ever set foot on the floor of the stock exchange was as a summer associate with one of the investment banks here in New York,” Bowen says. “I never would have imagined some decades later I’d be walking into this building as the chair.” Sharon Bowen grins and claps her hands alongside Serena Williams and Alison Stillman, who are smiling, and NYSE Group president Lynn Martin, who is also smiling and clapping. The four of them stand behind a white dais, which is labeled with the words “New York Stock Exchange” and also boasts a large ringing bell. Behind them is a blue background displaying the words Serena Ventures and NYSE. Sharon Bowen celebrates the ringing of the opening bell with, from left, Serena Williams and Alison Stillman of Serena Ventures and NYSE Group president Lynn Martin. Image: NYSE Group Bowen grew up in Chesapeake, Va., where she and her four older siblings attended an all-Black elementary school. She remembers seeing KKK cross burnings as a child. But from a young age, she says, she drew confidence from a family and community that supported education. There was an emphasis, too, on activism. “I watched my neighbors and family members fighting for civil rights,” with a focus on access to health care and education, Bowen says. “So the concept of being a ‘first’ wasn’t frightening — it was a reward for my good work.” In junior high, Bowen ran relays in track, where she learned the importance of setting one’s teammates up for success. And she was salutatorian and homecoming queen at her then-recently integrated high school. As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia in the ’70s, Bowen wasn’t sure at first what she wanted to study. She loved reading and writing and considered majoring in English. But an economics class changed her mind. “I didn’t know what Wall Street was at the time,” Bowen says. “But through reading The Wall Street Journal — a daily class assignment — I discovered our financial markets.” Bowen enjoyed the intellectual challenge of analyzing the markets, but she remained undecided on a career path. She applied to both law schools and MBA programs and found in Northwestern a pair of outstanding, highly ranked options. It was one of three universities that offered her a full scholarship to both its law and business schools. Northwestern’s collaborative culture and the sense of place on its campuses, she says, won her over. “I was attracted to the smaller class sizes, which I thought would give me an opportunity to engage with my fellow students,” Bowen says. “The professors knew all of us inside and outside of the classroom, which really makes a difference.”