Ep.10 Deborah Waters, Managing Director at Citi (Global Head of Private Bank Operations & Technology, Cross Product and ICG O&T Diversity) Artwork

Showing Up as a Leader

WINGS for Growth is a nonprofit, women’s leadership development program. Our mission is to Unleash the leader in women, accelerate their growth, and inspire them to create opportunities for the next generations. We envision a day when women leaders, role models, and change agents are universal. In WINGS “Showing up as a leader” series, we are inviting exceptional women leaders from various industries and backgrounds who are passionate about sharing their perspective and candid insights on what it takes for women to be the leader they want to be. Speakers will share their own learnings, challenges and sometimes tough or difficult decisions they had to make that led them to the success they have achieved. They will also share how they help uplift other women by mentoring, sponsoring, and coaching. In a world where there are a higher number of men in leadership ranks, they will share how they have worked with men who grew to be their allies. We will focus on narratives, culture, mindset, intuition, business and finally how to show up as a leader everywhere and create a path for others to lead.

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Showing Up as a Leader

Ep.10 Deborah Waters, Managing Director at Citi (Global Head of Private Bank Operations & Technology, Cross Product and ICG O&T Diversity)

April 26, 2021 • WINGS For Growth • Season 1 • Episode 10

WINGS for Growth presents "Showing up as a leader" with Deborah Waters. Debbie Waters is the Global Head of Private Bank Operations and Technology at Citigroup. Also, Debbie leads the Commercial Bank Technology and Institutional Clients Group (ICG). Debbie has a passion for Diversity and leads Diversity for her division.

We talk about some crucial topics with Deborah, such as transitioning from managing yourself to managing large teams, balancing work life being as a first-time mother, establishing executive presence and promoting inclusion at the workplace, having tough conversations and resilience through a crisis. She says: “resiliency is not just for leaders. Resiliency is for anybody and everybody. And if you can be resilient and you can adjust with those changes, then you will be successful.

Quotes:

Challenges build character.
You have to be a little uncomfortable to be comfortable with Inclusion.
You must manage your own career. No one is responsible for your career but you.
As you grow in ranks, you have to make decisions with less and less information.
Volunteer for stretch roles. It is the best way to get visibility and build an impactful network.

Guest Bio:

Deborah Waters is the Global Head of Private Bank Operations and Technology provides solutions for Citi’s Private Bank franchise helping enable them to offer highly sophisticated institutional-level solutions along with traditional private banking offerings. Also, Debbie leads the Commercial Bank Technology and Institutional Clients Group (ICG) Cross Product Technology which creates Tech Utilities that can be leveraged across ICG such as Portal, Sales and Research. Debbie has a passion for Diversity and leads ICG O&T Diversity.

Debbie has been with Citi for over 25 years. Prior to her current role, she led Client Centric and Equities Technology (CCET), supporting the following ICG businesses: Equities, Research, Citi Velocity, and Markets Sales. Debbie also held various roles in the Markets Technology organization, including the Global Technology Head for Investment Bank, Markets and TTS Sales, and ICG Client Analytics, as well as Municipals and Global Securitized Markets.

She has also served as the COO for Markets Technology during her tenure. Prior to moving into Markets Technology, Debbie managed Markets and Operational Risk Technology for the organization where she started as a developer for risk. Before joining Citi, Debbie spent five years in the aerospace industry working for GE and Martin Lockheed.

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Many women reach the cusp of leadership and never make the leap. WINGS is strategically positioned to serve this population. 1st woman founded nonprofit, academically-backed, High-Touch, Results-Oriented, 10-month leadership program that fosters mindset and behavior which leads to systematic change. WINGS’s - accelerates thousands more women toward leadership roles in a way that’s never been done before.