The Wall Street veteran, whose illustrious career spanned nearly three decades, recently speak Luck She still remembers sitting on a board in the mid-2000s. Then Citigroup’s chief financial officer, Krawchek, sat with senior executives from other companies. Fortune 500 The giants included IBM and GE. But while her male colleagues were asked about “balancing the balance sheet,” Krawcheck was asked about how she balanced her responsibilities as a working mother.
“I remember thinking, ‘It’s not enough for me to sit in this chair as a CFO,’” she said. speak Luck.
Krawcheck, who took the helm as CFO at Citi in 2004 at the age of 38, has held top positions at major Wall Street firms such as Sanford C. Bernstein, Smith Barney, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America. Known as “The Ultimate Honest Analyst” via Luck Reporter David Rynecki in 2002, Krawcheck cemented her rise to the C-suite by leading Sanford Bernstein through the dot-com bubble of 2000. Her strategy? Be honest—unlike her peers who hyped stocks while privately disparaging them.
Luck
However during her time climb With senior management, she said she was “the only woman, or one of only two women” in the room.
“I think my gender has always been a factor,” she said. “I think it’s been a factor in my successes, and I think it’s been a factor in my failures.”
“There were times in my life when I just ‘go, go, go, go’ with my career and doing well as a mother,” she said. “But [I] not the perfect mom with homemade cookies.”
Likewise, Krawcheck says, “there were times in my life when my children needed me when my career took a back seat.”
Now 59, Krawcheck is the founder and CEO of Ellevest, an investment platform she launched in 2016 that is “founded by, funded by, built by, built for, investing in women through women,” she says. Under her leadership, robo advisor has grown to over $2 billion in assets under management and has enjoyed donate from supporters like Melinda French Gates and Penny Pritzker.
After years of working at traditional firms “with the goal of creating change from the inside out,” Krawcheck is now on a mission to disrupt the “Wall Street boys’ club” and help introduce women to investing.
“Elevest is a bit of a Wall Street reversal in terms of company composition; we are about 85% women,” she says.
Ellevest
Krawcheck’s company is now fully remote, and not having to commute is a “huge perk” for working parents, she said. When asked about her thoughts on work-life balance and whether she’s achieved it, Krawcheck said she has “a lot of thoughts” about that goal.
“I don’t like the fact that we’re asking this question as a challenge for women as another level of success to achieve,” she said. “You’ve been successful in business, ma’am, but that’s not enough, now you need to balance it out.”
Between team meetings, Krawcheck came up with Luck Exclusive look at her daily routine starting as soon as she wakes up.
Afternoon Cookie Art
5:30 AM: If she’s not trying to catch some sleep on a night flight—which happens “fairly often”—Krawcheck usually rolls out of bed when the sun comes up. She’s immediately greeted by her cats, Newcomb and Meekum, the latter of whom is “very demanding.”
“First, she needs a massage, I mean deep tissue massage to start the day for her and for me.”
Once Meekum was satisfied, Krawcheck made a glass of decaffeinated oat milk and challenged his younger brother to a virtual spelling game.
Ellevest
7 am: The next hour will be spent exercising, whether it’s a walk around the park near my New York apartment or a ride on my Peloton bike.
“I like to sweat a lot, I like to lift some light weights, and I like to stretch,” the CEO said.
9 am: After a quick shower, Krawcheck heads to work—a short walk through the bedroom and living room to his home office.
“When I blow dry my hair, when I put on my makeup, the first hour I sit at my desk tends to be my most creative time,” she says. “I learned a long time ago that I’m my best thinker in the morning; in the afternoon, my brain goes to mush.”
12 pm: After a busy morning with Launch After a call, Krawcheck takes time to meet with a potential client or investor for lunch and some fresh air before returning to his desk.
From then on, “it was one meeting after another.”
3 pm: Krawcheck said two things happened that afternoon “and both were really important.”
To stay energized for the rest of the workday, Krawcheck takes a 15-minute nap. It’s a “perk” of working from home, she says.
“I sit on the sofa to do it because if I lie down, that 15-minute nap will definitely stretch into a two-hour sleep.”
Next up: An “afternoon cookie,” a key differentiator “is the sugar boost I need to get through the day.”
6 pm: Evenings are often filled with networking events and cocktail parties hosted by Krawcheck at her New York City home for small groups of women to talk about money, power, investing, and more.
Krawcheck said that if she wasn’t organizing Ellevest and had free time after work, she would enjoy cooking and would often make dinner for her kids on Sunday nights.
“My roast chicken is better than your grandma’s. I mean, it’ll blow your mind,” she said. “My pie? The flaky, crusty crust is unbelievable.”
8pm: Krawcheck starts sleeping around 8 p.m. and family and friends know exactly when she wants to go to bed.
“I said, ‘I’m going to take my cranky ass upstairs,’” she said. “That was just kind of a signal. [that] “The conversation is over, I’m going to go somewhere quiet to read for a few hours.”
Krawcheck might enjoy a glass of Chardonnay before falling asleep and dreaming about his next big business idea.
