Elizabeth 'Libby' McHugh, 39

Libby McHugh can thank her grandfather for her favorite inspirational acronym: D.W.Y.S.Y.W.D. “He drilled it into all of his children and grandchildren,” she says. “We have it on mugs and T-shirts and hats.”

It stands for “do what you say you will do,” and McHugh has lived by that motto. “If anything, I would rather underpromise and overdeliver,” she says. “People can enjoy your personality and can make exceptions if something happens because they like you as a person. But if you’re telling them you’re going to do something, do it. If you don’t, it speaks to your integrity as a person.”

McHugh started at Wasmer, Schroeder & Co. as a portfolio administrator in 2004 and climbed the ladder to her role as director of client services. In that position she oversees the firm’s client service managers and account administrators. She takes seriously the fact that she’s helping shape the company’s future leaders — and pushed for the managerial training she needed to effectively do that.