Breaking Wall Street banks' longest-standing glass-ceiling, Jane Fraser, is all set to succeed Michael Corbat as the incoming CEO of Citigroup in February 2021, becoming the first ever woman to lead a major US bank. Fraser, 53, who became President of Citigroup, the third-largest bank in the US, in 2019 has been called the "Number 1 Woman to Watch" for two consecutive years by American Banker.
Born in St Andrews, Scotland, Jane earned her undergraduate major in economics from Girton College, Cambridge in 1988 and went one to pursue her MBA at Harvard Business School after gaining four years of work experience. Afterwards, with her affinity for maths and economics, she stepped into the financial world in 1994, joining McKinsey & Company, eventually rising to partner.
She didn't deter in balancing her job and personal life efficiently by working part-time to look after her young children. She was advised not to take up partnership in the company when she was pregnant with her first child, but she shattered all barriers and returned to work only two weeks after the birth of her child. She worked for 10 consecutive years in McKinsey, all the while writing articles, travelling for research and she even co-authored a book with her colleagues.
In 2004, after much encouragement by Citigroup executive Michael Klein, Fraser decided to join the bank. Quickly making her way up, Fraser went from Head of Client Strategy in a department to Global Head of Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions in 2007 and merely two years later, she was named CEO of Citi Private Bank in June, 2009.
And after 10 years of overseeing and being promoted as CEO of numerous branches and divisions of Citigroup, she has been touted as the next leader and the only female one among the 10 largest US banks. She took some bold steps in all her roles, dealing with the bank running deficit, laying off employees and closing down offices.
Even though she has come a long path-breaking way, her journey to lead Citigroup hasn't even begun yet. But her experience in leading a series of different units and smoothly transitioning from one role to another, will provide her with the credibility to take over future challenges.
