Citi's new CEO Jane Fraser: 5 things to know
Jane Fraser will step up as the first woman CEO of a mega-bank in Wall Street History.
Citigroup is tapping Jane Fraser to take over as chief executive, marking the first time a female will lead one of the largest U.S. banks. Fraser will replace the bank’s current CEO, Michael Corbat, who is stepping down after 8 years in the position.
Stocks In This Article:
CITIGROUP MICHAEL CORBAT TO RETIRE IN FEBRUARY
In a vote by the Board of Directors, Fraser will leave her role as Citi’s President and CEO of Global Consumer Banking to succeed Corbat in February of 2021.
Jane Fraser, chief executive officer for Latin American at Citigroup Inc., speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Monday, April 29, 2019. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Here are five things to know about Fraser:
She is the first female to lead a top-tier bank
In an industry dominated by male executives, Fraser will be the first woman to be the chief of one of Wall Street’s largest six banks. Even though JP Morgan Chase has several women under the wing of Jamie Dimon in line for the throne, it is unlikely that one will fill his shoes for a while.
In a statement, CitiGroup Board of Directors Chair John C. Dugan said, “We believe Jane is the right person to build on Mike’s record and take Citi to the next level. She has deep experience across our lines of business and regions and we are highly confident in her."
Women CEOs remain largely underrepresented in the banking world. In 2020, nearly 7.4% CEO roles of Fortune 500 companies are currently held by females.
She has a degree from Harvard Business School and Cambridge University
A Scotland native, Fraser attended the University of Cambridge, where she earned an M.B.A in economics in 1988.
Fraser later obtained an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1994.
She helped pull Citigroup out of a mess in Latin America
Fraser started her career at Goldman Sachs in London and also worked as a partner at McKinsey & Company for 10 years. Throughout her 16 years at Citigroup, she held leadership roles in U.S. consumer and commercial banking and CitiMortgage, the global private bank, as well as the strategy and mergers and acquisitions. During the last 10 years, as the bank went through restructuring, Fraser sat at the helm of pulling the bank out of the financial crisis by helping to shed $8 billion dollars worth of assets and more than 80 businesses.
CITIGROUP PROFIT FALLS 73% AS IT GIRDS FOR CORONAVIRUS ECONOMY
Prior to her role leading Global Consumer Banking, Fraser served as the chief executive officer of Citi’s Latin America region from 2015 to 2019, where she took on the task of fixing troubled banking business in Mexico. When Fraser arrived in 2015, Citi’s Banco Nacional de Mexico, now known as Citibanamex, she took on the baggage of alleged accounting fraud. Despite the Trump Administration’s staunch positions on immigration and trade, Fraser prevailed in pushing one of the largest financial investments the company has made, which aimed to modernize and enhance the Mexican branch’s infrastructure and digital capabilities.
Jane Fraser, chief executive officer for Latin American at Citigroup Inc., laughs during an interview at the company's headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. The bank has been investing in its wholesale business in Brazil to take
She is a working mom
Fraser ascended the ranks of Wall Street while raising a family. She is the mother of two sons and married to a Cuban-American. There was a period of time when her husband left his job as a bank manager in Europe to stay at home and take care of their children while she went back to work, according to a Citi spokesperson. Her kids are now in high school and college.
She’s played golf with Tiger Woods
As a St. Andrews native, golf is in Fraser’s DNA. While she describes herself as “OK,” she managed to play rounds with one of the greatest golfers of all time in an event that would be filmed. In a speech from 2016, Fraser told the audience that what led her to overcome her fear from playing the game came from the advice of one of her two sons. Fraser recounted that her 11-year-old son at the time told her that no one would be watching her.
“They’re going to be watching him. And for the rest of your life, you’ll be able to say that you’ve played golf with Tiger Woods.”
Alongside her golf heritage, Fraser's career feat and rise to CEO at Citi is certainly up to par.