Profile: Jane Fraser, new Citigroup CEO, breaks the Wall Street barrier

While the appointment is an historic moment for the US banking sector, the Cambridge-educated Scot had long been tipped for the top.

Image (cropped): Palacio do Planalto, Alan Santos/PR via Flickr
The appointment of Jane Fraser as chief executive of Citigroup will see America’s fourth largest bank jump ahead of its rivals—at least in terms of board composition.
Fraser is the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank. The news travelled fast, making headlines around the world—an acknowledgement that women leading giant financial institutions (Citi took revenues of $103.45bn in 2019) sadly remain a rarity.
But Fraser’s rise to CEO should come as no surprise. In fact, it was heralded last year when she became the bank’s president. But close observers will note her entire career trajectory indicates that she was heading
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