Title: Executive Director
Firm: Wells Fargo
Age: 35
With a major in international business and a minor in German and Chinese, Alexandra Byrnes expected to be an international banker. Her first round of job interviews with Wells Fargo had her meeting a mergers and acquisition banker and a public finance banker. "The M&A banker's flight ran late, leaving just me and the public finance banker. I became infatuated with the ability to work with higher education institutions and in investment banking," said Byrnes.
Byrnes loves the mission of higher education and being able to grow the higher education coverage team at Wells Fargo. "Wells is the second job in my career where I had the ability to grow a practice. Coming here to rebuild the higher ed team with people who are fabulous has been both exciting and rewarding," she said.
As a result of Byrnes' dedication and work ethic, she helped raise the profile of Wells Fargo's practice to third in the rankings of higher education bond financings, according to LSEG.
In 2025, Byrnes was the lead banker for the tax-exempt portion of New York University's $2.2 billion bond issuance. The transaction was primarily completed to fund real estate investments across New York. "We did a lot of modeling and we had close to 20 scenarios that we were running. It was a very complex and fulfilling transaction to be a part of," said Byrnes.
"I made a promise to myself that in addition to supporting my clients, I wanted to try to be a strong role model for other women in the sector, encouraging them that you can do this job, while being a mother and raising a family," said Byrnes, who also serves as a committee chair of Wells Fargo's Markets Engagement Counsel.
