A Centuries-Old Bank That Looks Like a Tech Company

I started my career in investment banking, following the path of least resistance from the Ivy League to Wall Street. Though the work was interesting and exciting, I knew I wasn’t in it for the long haul based on my observations of the careers and lives of company executives. I wanted something that the banking industry couldn’t offer. At least, not back then.

A few weeks ago for my podcast, Office Hours, I connected with Mike Corbat, chief executive officer of Citigroup – an institution with 204-year-old roots in the finance industry. When you think old-school banking, you think big marble and walnut monoliths with corner offices occupied by Gordon Gekko-esque workaholics. My visit to meet with Mike at Citigroup’s New York offices threw these stereotypes out the window.

Citigroup’s offices consist of open spaces with bright, clean lines. No corner offices; no doors, even. It much more resembles Zillow Group’s dot-com-esque headquarters in Seattle than a traditional bank. The space, Mike explained, was meant to embody what the company stands for: removing friction from its customers’ everyday lives. As a global business whose No. 1 need is speed to decision, Mike’s job as CEO is to make that ever easier for employees. Doors are friction, he explained; they delay decision-making by tying up deliverables, untouchable on someone’s desk. Mike passionately explained that a company’s physical space should reinforce the company’s cultural values. He sounded more like a startup CEO than the CEO of a company with a $125 billion market cap.

I learned that office space wasn’t the only thing Mike and his leadership team are radically redefining in the banking industry; they’re also changing the way they attract and retain talent. Citigroup’s career offering has shifted from “paycheck with power” – attracting the ambitious but inherently mercenary – to “paycheck with purpose” as a way to resonate with the career goals of its increasingly millennial-based workforce. Mike and his team get that millennials want fulfillment professionally and personally, and they expect both from their employer. Programs like gap years in Africa working in microfinance help Citigroup retain talent while also giving employees opportunities for growth around the company’s mission of giving back to the world.

After my talk with Mike, I wondered: If Citigroup had been in the 1990s what it is today, would I have stayed in investment banking? I guess we’ll never know. To hear more of our conversation on leadership and corporate culture, download the Office Hours podcast.