Jane Fraser
Jane Fraser, born in 1967, is a British-American banking executive who currently serves as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Citigroup, a position she has held since March 2021. Fraser's impressive career in the financial industry has been marked by numerous achievements and milestones, making her a prominent figure in the world of global banking.
Educated at Girton College, Cambridge, where she earned a BA in economics (later promoted to an MA per tradition), Fraser began her professional journey at Goldman Sachs in London, working as a mergers and acquisitions analyst from July 1988 to July 1990. She then moved on to work as a brokerage associate for Asesores Bursátiles, a securities broker based in Madrid, from August 1990 to June 1992. Seeking to further her education, Fraser enrolled at Harvard Business School, earning her MBA in 1994.
In 1994, Fraser joined McKinsey & Company, where she spent a decade working in financial services and global strategy. During her tenure at McKinsey, she rose to the position of partner, working in both New York and London. Fraser also demonstrated her expertise in globalization by writing articles on the subject and co-authoring the 1999 book "Race for the World: Strategies to Build a Great Global Firm" with three other McKinsey employees. As part of her research for the book, she traveled to various countries, including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, and India, to interview McKinsey clients about their global challenges. Impressed by her knowledge and insights, Citigroup executive Michael Klein spent several years encouraging Fraser to join the company, which she eventually did in 2004.
At Citigroup, Fraser initially served as the Head of Client Strategy in the investment and global banking division starting in July 2004. In October 2007, she was promoted to Global Head of Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions, a position she held until May 2009. During this period, Fraser played a crucial role in navigating the company through the financial crisis of 2007-2009, as part of the executive team responsible for restructuring the group, leading its re-engineering efforts, making divestments, and raising new capital.
In June 2009, Fraser was appointed CEO of Citi Private Bank. At the time of her promotion, the bank was facing an annual deficit of approximately $250 million. However, under her leadership, the bank returned to profitability during her four-year tenure. Fraser implemented several changes, such as reducing the ratio of private bankers to clients, targeting one banker for every 30 clients, and eliminating commissions and sales formulas for bankers in favor of a year-end discretionary bonus.
Fraser's career at Citigroup continued to progress, and in May 2013, she was asked to replace the retiring CEO of CitiMortgage. Despite the potential risks associated with the move, Fraser accepted the challenge. Her leadership of Citigroup's mortgage division coincided with a marketwide drop in demand for mortgage refinancing, prompting the bank to refocus its efforts on selling residential mortgages to home buyers. As a result, Citigroup closed several mortgage offices nationwide and laid off 1,000 employees in September 2013 alone.
Less than a year later, in March 2014, Fraser was promoted to CEO of US Consumer and Commercial Banking, succeeding Cecelia Stewart, who had announced her retirement. In April 2015, Fraser took on the role of CEO of Citigroup Latin America, overseeing operations in 24 countries. This promotion followed a reshuffling of Citigroup executives due to the retirement of Manuel Medina-Mora, CEO of Citigroup's global consumer bank. While based in Miami, Fraser was tasked with various responsibilities, including instilling a more U.S.-like culture at Banamex (Banco Nacional de México), which Citigroup had owned and operated since 2001.
In October 2019, Fraser's role at Citigroup expanded further when she was appointed President of Citigroup and Head of Global Consumer Banking (GCB). In this position, she was responsible for all of Citi's consumer businesses, including Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Credit Cards, Mortgage, and Operations and Technology across 19 markets.
A significant milestone in Fraser's career occurred in September 2020 when Citigroup announced that she would succeed Michael Corbat as CEO of Citigroup Inc. in February 2021. This appointment made Fraser the first woman to head a major U.S. bank, cementing her place in history. As CEO, Fraser has taken a unique approach to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing permanent plans to allow staff to work from home on certain days of the week and providing greater flexibility in their schedules compared to other Wall Street firms. She has cited the desire to differentiate Citigroup from other bulge bracket banks, such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, during recruiting as a motivation for this approach.
Fraser's influence extends beyond her role at Citigroup. She is scheduled to speak at the November 2022 Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, although the Hong Kong Democracy Council has claimed that her presence, along with other financial executives, legitimizes the Hong Kong government's whitewashing of the erosion of freedoms in the city.
In addition to her professional responsibilities, Fraser is actively involved in various memberships and organizations. She serves as Vice Chair for Partnership for New York City and is a member of the Harvard Business School's Board of Dean's Advisors, the Stanford Global Advisory Board, the Economic Club of New York, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Fraser has also led the Citi Operations team since 2021 and previously served on the board of the Touch Foundation from 2006 to 2015.
Fraser's accomplishments have not gone unnoticed, and she has received several honors and recognition throughout her career. In 2015, she was ranked number 41 on Fortune's list of the 51 Most Powerful Women in Business, up from number 48 on the 2014 list. American Banker named her the "Number 1 Woman to Watch" in both 2014 and 2015. Additionally, Fraser was selected for the inaugural 2021 Forbes 50 Over 50, which recognizes entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, and creators over the age of 50.
On a personal level, Fraser is married and the mother of two sons. Her husband, Alberto Piedra, a former banker and native of Cuba, left his job as a bank manager in Europe during the financial crisis of 2008 to spend more time caring for their young children. Fraser has also been involved in volunteer work, appearing on a CBS Local report in June 2015 about Citi Global Community Day, during which she and other volunteers spruced up the Liberty Square public housing project in Miami.
Despite her British accent, Fraser disclosed during her first televised interview as CEO of Citigroup on CNBC in April 2021 that she had been a proud American citizen for the past twenty years. In a congressional testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on May 26, 2021, Fraser noted in her opening remarks that she first arrived in the United States in 1987 and became a U.S. citizen in 2001.
Jane Fraser's remarkable career trajectory, from her early days at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company to her groundbreaking appointment as the first female CEO of a top-tier Wall Street Investment Bank, serves as an inspiration to aspiring professionals in the financial industry. Her leadership, expertise, and unique approach to managing one of the world's largest banks during challenging times have solidified her position as a key figure in global finance. As Fraser continues to navigate the ever-changing landscape of the banking sector, her influence and impact on the industry are likely to remain significant for years to come.