Voice of Experience: Yolande Piazza, Managing Director, Global Consumer Technology, Citi

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Yolande Piazza’s career at Citigroup began with a six-week assignment. Twenty-two years later, it has blossomed into a role where she’s driving the strategy behind Citi’s Global Consumer Technology organization’s transformation.

“Our goal is to integrate and transform technology teams from around the world into a single, world-class IT organization,” said Piazza, Citi’s Managing Director of Global Consumer Technology. “Strategically, we are trying to drive the standard of processes and tools across 15,000 people in the organization. We have an incredibly aggressive agenda. We’re talking months, not years.”

A Career Delivering IT Success

This is nothing new for Piazza, who has made a career out of volunteering for projects no one else has been willing to take on. She called her brief, initial assignment at the company a “crash course in just about every department” that laid the foundation for her time with Citi, and she has carried that well-rounded approach to this day.

Piazza’s career has consisted of a series of lateral and upward moves — changes that kept her feeling refreshed.

“In fact, I’ve never felt like I’ve worked for the same company for more than two or three years,” she said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have many different roles. I enjoy finding opportunities or gaps and figuring out other ways of doing things.”

One example of that mindset came in 1995, when she was working with Diners Club International, which was then owned by Citigroup. When the company realized it was spending too much time producing paper reports on the automotive sector for the European region (EMEA), Piazza was asked to find a solution.

“When I was working in the Diners Club International space, I had the opportunity to interface with external clients to find solutions, and led a team that built a unique industry product,” Piazza said. “I was able to establish, drive and implement what was really needed throughout the process. I’m very proud of that, and the product was actually patented.”

Citi took notice of Piazza’s enthusiasm for delivering on challenging jobs. By 2006, she had embraced another opportunity as chief information officer at Citi’s Student Loan Corporation (SLC).

“It was a large responsibility and a challenging role,” she said. “I was able to re-engineer our efforts, drive efficiencies and transform the IT organization at SLC. I had a great team, but we were under significant financial pressure.”

Where many saw a challenge, Piazza saw an opportunity.

“There was an enormous amount of legal and regulatory items that needed to be delivered,” she said. “We were able to re-engineer our IT practices, reducing our costs by 30 percent while still delivering on our commitments to clients. They were trying times, but it was a significant turning point in my career.”

In 2009 she was ready for her next assignment. After spending three and a half years in Rochester, N.Y., Piazza transferred to a Strategy Planning role with Citi’s Global Consumer Technology group, located in Florida.

This time, she’s part of a team aiming to fundamentally transform the consumer bank’s worldwide IT operations, a change that involves 15,000 employees and a significant investment towards a global platform. Piazza describes it as “an exciting time for us as a whole.”

In alignment with Citi’s overall strategy to offer a world-class customer experience, drive efficiencies and enable global deployment of solutions, Piazza explained that she is working on standardization that will allow the IT organization to deliver standard tools, processes and practices that can be implemented globally.

“How do you implement discipline and practices so that all IT operations behave the same way and make programs successful? We are working to be more effective and best in class in the financial space, and to fundamentally transform our organization.”

And Piazza’s tasks fit into Citi’s overall strategy of becoming the world’s foremost digital bank, a goal that can’t be reached until these pieces of the puzzle are in place.

“The piece that fascinates me is that people think of banks as bricks and mortar,” she said. “I’m intrigued by what the digital space will do for banking in general. How we take and define that space will define who we are as Citi.”

Advice for Women in Technology

With so many experiences in her career, Piazza is full of advice — beginning with the approach that has helped her find solutions to problems at Citi.

“One of the things I wish I had known was the power of information,” she said. “I encourage young people to never take anything at face value. Understand why you are being asked to do something, and take time to find out. Ask questions. The result is going to be different and better if you have operated from someone else’s viewpoint. Generally, I am a problem-solver. Solutions to problems are that much more mature because you take the time to ask questions.”

She continued: “The second thing I wish I had known was how important the relationships that you build are. Whenever I am struggling in some regions to get the data I need, I can pick up the phone and say, ‘I need your help,’ and I’m able to get that help. The relationships you establish early in your career prove to be valuable later on.”

For young people entering the industry, Piazza said following the heart is key. “Do what you are passionate about. Every job I’ve done, I really believed I could make a difference. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve done. Don’t do it for a paycheck, do it because you’re passionate.”

As far as challenges for women, Piazza said, “I’ve never looked at myself as a senior female leader. I look at myself as a leader. I’ve never seen myself as different from my peers.”

But there are some differences, with the biggest being communication styles. Piazza said that while women tend to speak with emotion, men are more likely to respond to fact-based discussions.

“As with many IT organizations, most of my colleagues are male. In my role on the Senior Leadership Group, I find myself frequently stepping back and reminding myself that the team only needs bullet-points, they don’t need the emotional aspects,” she said. “It helps to read body language: How engaged is the other person? Do you need to present the information differently?”

As women move up in their careers, Piazza advised them not to focus on the fact that they’re different. “It needs to be about results,” she said. “Stepping out of line role and into a more strategic role, you’ve got to be able to let go and trust the people around you. It’s all about giving yourself enough room to grow. Don’t try to control everything. Demonstrate that you have the skills for the next level.”

She’s also an advocate of mentoring. “I’ve mentored many people, formally and informally. Personally, I think it’s the best way to give back. When people are willing to invest their time in your career, it’s very meaningful.”

In Her Personal Time

Meanwhile, she’s sure to invest time in herself and her family as well.

“Because of the great opportunities at Citi, I’ve been able to visit more than 30 countries,” Piazza said. “I love learning about new cultures. I love to get on the train and to get out and see how people really live. It’s had a huge impact on me.”

She added: “I’m blessed with three kids: two in college and one 12-year-old. They’ve been so accommodating of my career. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of managing work-life balance and scheduling time for important events. My family and the culture at Citi make it easy for me to do what I need to do to be successful.

“A lot of times, as women, we feel forced to choose, but if you leverage the right tools and build the right teams and rely on them, it can be very manageable to have that balance. I hope my son and daughters learn some of those traits and take them forward with their own careers.”