Denise L. Ramos is moving from the Midwest to the local region this year as one of the few top female financial officers at Fortune 500 companies.

Ramos, 50, is taking over as CFO at ITT Corp., the $7.8 billion Harrison-based global manufacturer, effective July 1. She is succeeding the retiring George E. Minnich, 57.

In announcing the move last week, ITT Chief Executive Officer Steve Loranger said the company needed a CFO who could lead ITT’s financial strategy over the long term. He said Ramos was chosen for her vision, her communication skills, and her track record of building partnerships and developing talent.

Ramos is currently CFO and senior vice president at Furniture Brands International in St. Louis, Mo., a $2.4 billion manufacturer of such brands as Thomasville, Broyhill, and Drexel Heritage. Prior to joining Furniture Brands in February 2005, Ramos held key roles at Yum! Brands Inc. and Atlantic Richfield Co.

While the number of female CFOs at top companies isn’t large, it appears to be growing. The magazine CFO reports this month that its latest survey found 38 women finance chiefs at Fortune 500 companies, up from 24 in the last survey six years ago.

Ramos suggested that the increase may reflect a coming of age in the country. She said she was fortunate in that she hadn’t encountered the glass ceilings that other women have reported in corporate America.

“I’ve worked at companies where I never felt there was an issue between men and women,� she said. “To me, it’s not male or female. I want the most competent person in the job.�

A native of Gary, Ind., she credits her father, the late Everett Johnson, as a key influence in her professional career. A hospital administrator who went on to teach the subject in college and to write a textbook on it, Johnson stressed the importance of education.

The message took hold in the family. The youngest of four children, Ramos jokes that she’s also the least educated, with merely an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago. It was Johnson who encouraged her to seek a career in business, she said.

Her father was influential in other ways. He taught her at the age of 10 to play bridge, a card game requiring skills that Ramos said she later found useful in the business world. Players need to strategize with the cards they have, and they have to work with partners at the table.

“Finance is only one piece of the puzzle,� Ramos said. “There’s operations, marketing, human resources, legal.�