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The character arc of Sallie Krawcheck

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 28 November 1964. Between then and now sit a Presidential Scholar honour in 1983, an MBA at Columbia in 1992, the leadership of Smith Barney and a Time listing in 2002, the Citigroup finance job in 2004, its wealth management business in 2007, her departure on 22 September 2008, a Bank of America division from 2009, a quarter of 54 percent growth in 2011, her departure on 6 September 2011, a network bought in 2013 and Ellevest launched in 2016. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Sallie Krawcheck?

She said pay them back.

In 1983, as a high school senior, she was honoured as a South Carolina Presidential Scholar, and in 1992 she obtained an MBA from Columbia Business School. She was named chief executive of Citigroup's then new Smith Barney unit, for which Time listed her among its Global Influentials in 2002 and Fortune named her its most influential person under forty. She appeared in the top ten of the Forbes list of the world's hundred most powerful women in 2005 and 2006, was appointed chief financial officer for Citigroup in 2004, and in 2007 was named chief executive of its wealth management business.

She left Citi on 22 September 2008, following months of tension with the chief executive over her argument that the bank should reimburse clients for defective investments distributed by its own brokers and bankers. That is the whole of the disagreement, and it is the reason the rest of this line looks the way it does.

Following an acquisition in 2009, Bank of America hired her to head its new Global Wealth and Investment Management division. In the second quarter of 2011 her division increased net income by fifty four percent, from 329 million dollars to 506 million, in a quarter when the bank as a whole posted a loss of 8.8 billion. Her position was eliminated by the firm's new chief executive as part of a restructuring and she left on 6 September 2011. She bought a professional network in 2013 and is its chairwoman, was described in 2012 as one of the rare honest voices on Wall Street, was listed in a feature on women succeeding in technology in December 2017, and in 2016 launched Ellevest, an investing platform for women.

The moments

Sallie Krawcheck's timeline.

The 1980s

Jun 1983

A Presidential Scholar

Milestone. One of the state's scholars, at seventeen.

The 1990s

Jun 1992

An MBA at Columbia

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A business degree, in New York.

The 2000s

Jun 2002

Running Smith Barney

Milestone, and it changed everything. A bank's brokerage, run before she was forty.

Jun 2004

Chief financial officer

Milestone, and it changed everything. The finance job at one of the largest banks in the world.

Jun 2007

Wealth management

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Back to the unit she had run, with more attached.

1 Jun 2008

Argue it, or let it go

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: keep arguing, taken, or let it go. Bank of America hired her to head a new division in 2009, and she launched Ellevest in 2016.

22 Sep 2008

She left Citi

Setback, and it changed everything. She argued the bank should pay its clients back, and then she left.

Jun 2009

Bank of America hires her

Milestone, and it changed everything. A second bank, and a division of her own.

The 2010s

30 Jun 2011

Fifty four percent

Milestone, and it changed everything. Her division grew by more than half, in a quarter the bank lost billions.

6 Sep 2011

Her position was eliminated

Setback, and it changed everything. The job removed, two months after the division grew fifty four percent.

Jun 2012

An honest voice

Milestone. Described as one of the rare honest voices there.

Jun 2013

She bought the network

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A network for women, bought rather than joined.

18 May 2016

Ellevest

Milestone, and it changed everything. Her own company, built for the customers the banks were not serving.

Dec 2017

A list in technology

Milestone. On a technology list, from a career in banking.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is the shape after the two dips: she lost both jobs at the top of other people's banks, and then built one where the argument she kept losing was the whole point.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

Hers cost her two of the biggest jobs on Wall Street and she built her own instead. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

Sallie Krawcheck: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Sallie Krawcheck's character arc?
The top of two banks and two departures. She left Citi on 22 September 2008 after arguing it should reimburse clients, and her Bank of America job was eliminated on 6 September 2011. She launched Ellevest, an investing platform for women, in 2016.
Why did Sallie Krawcheck leave Citigroup?
She left on 22 September 2008 following months of tension with the chief executive, because she argued that Citi should reimburse clients for defective investments distributed by its own wealth management brokers and bankers.
Why did Sallie Krawcheck leave Bank of America?
Her position was eliminated by the firm's new chief executive as part of a restructuring and she left on 6 September 2011. In the second quarter of that year her division had increased net income by fifty four percent while the bank posted a loss of 8.8 billion dollars.
What is Sallie Krawcheck's Ellevest?
An investing platform for women, launched in 2016, of which she is the founder and former chief executive. She had also acquired a professional network in 2013, now doing business as Ellevate Network, and is its chairwoman.
What jobs did Sallie Krawcheck hold on Wall Street?
She was chief executive of Citigroup's Smith Barney unit, its chief financial officer from 2004, and chief executive of its wealth management business from 2007. She then headed Bank of America's Global Wealth and Investment Management division from 2009.
What has Sallie Krawcheck been recognised for?
Time named her among its Global Influentials in 2002 and Fortune its most influential person under forty. She was in the top ten of the Forbes list of the world's hundred most powerful women in 2005 and 2006, and was described in 2012 as one of the rare honest voices on Wall Street.
Where does this timeline of Sallie Krawcheck's life come from?
From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Sallie Krawcheck isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

Sources

  • Sallie Krawcheck, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
  • Citigroup and Bank of America leadership records, including her departures of 22 September 2008 and 6 September 2011.
  • Columbia Business School degree record, 1992.