Voice Of Experience: Lisa O’Donnell, Managing Director, Business Operational Risk and Control Management, Global Consumer Group, Citi

“Focus on achieving your passion, not a job title” to achieve career success and happiness according to Lisa O’Donnell, Managing Director at Citi. O’Donnell knows this trick from experience. If she had defined her career by a particular job title, she would most likely still be wearing dark suits and selling mainframe computers – albeit with a bigger title. Instead, she has leveraged her skills as a builder and someone who “connects the dots” and created a career where she works to engage Citi’s retail banking customers all while reducing risk.

See Opportunity, Connect the Dots and Keep Learning

Lisa O’Donnell started her career right out of college in a technology sales internship with IBM. At the time, IBM was known for its strong sales teams and for O’Donnell it was a tremendous opportunity to learn what customers need by listening to them. Shortly thereafter, O’Donnell moved to Apple and was working with a range of customers, primarily in the education market. She found herself increasingly immersed in the product development process and O’Donnell learned the importance of a user’s experience by working with educators, academics and other development and learning specialists to make Apple’s products better for its users.

“There was tremendous interest in looking at how children would interact with Apple’s devices. I would regularly bring home various prototypes to see how my toddlers would use them. My kids were playing with a mouse at nine months and on the internet when they were just two or three years old.”

These skills she acknowledges have set her up for success in her current role at Citi where she observes how the banking industry shared some cultural similarities with her experience in the technology industry. “Successful businesses in any industry think customer first.”

O’Donnell’s move from technology to banking was unplanned and rather sudden. “I was giving a keynote on my work with users at a technology conference and an HR person from Bank of America was in the audience. I was asked if I would be interested in joining the bank, so I found myself suddenly interviewing with no specific job description in mind. Six weeks later my family and I moved from Boulder to Charlotte so I could take the role at Bank of America. Before I arrived in North Carolina, Bank of America had reorganized and I found myself in a totally different role, developing operational process for the banking center channel and helping to expand into the digital world of ecommerce. At the time, online banking was new and customers were leery. It was my job to help create a great experience for customers using the web for their banking needs.”

This was a stepping stone into Risk Management at BAML and while financial risk management has been around for many years, it took on increased importance following the 2008 financial crash.

“It was a great way to round out my skills.”

Three years ago, O’Donnell moved to her current role as Managing Director, Business Operational Risk and Control Management for Citi’s Global Consumer Group where she focuses on operational risk in the consumer banking environment.

Much of the growth in risk management has been to help the business adhere to evolving regulations both in the U.S. and abroad. With a continued spotlight on the financial industry, many professionals and outsiders think of risk management as a necessary administrative burden. O’Donnell, however, sees risk management more as an opportunity. “Risk management is about protecting our customers which is part of improving the user experience.”

O’Donnell brings an understanding of user needs and behavior to risk management. Her success in elevating the importance of the human aspect of risk management at Citi is a significant accomplishment in a profession historically dominated by quants.

Confidence is not Arrogance

O’Donnell considers herself fortunate in many ways because her career grew along with the technology industry. “In many cases, I was the only woman in the room.” The downside to being the only woman in the room is that it can be difficult to find a role model. O’Donnell did her best to play to her strengths as a competitive advantage, and she never lost sight of the importance of customers.

“As women, we sometimes create our own barriers,” notes O’Donnell. In women’s leadership groups at Citi, she encourages other women to understand the areas of development but focus on and leverage their strengths. O’Donnell considers herself a builder, creating innovative ways to evolve business processes– not the person to want to maintain a process. “I was a terrific practice coach for my sons’ little league teams, getting every player involved and developing, but I left the role of game-day coach to my husband. Realizing the difference between the two skill sets enabled me to focus on what I do best.”

She believes that women often don’t show confidence in their strengths in business as they do in other aspects of their lives and believes it is a mistake. “I’ve seen women who are the most knowledgeable in the room on a certain subject hesitate to voice their views. It almost seems there is a fear of sounding too confident and potentially being labeled difficult. There is a big difference between confidence and arrogance. Confident people ask questions seeking information, perhaps to collectively solve a problem. Arrogant people don’t.”

Away from the Office

O’Donnell and her husband have two sons – one a senior in college and the other a graduate in his first career. “Over the last decade and a half, my hobbies have been those of our sons – supporting their love for ice hockey and baseball. This included multiple games weekly across multiple states and countries. Combined with work and taking care of our home, there wasn’t much time for outside hobbies.”

As a recent empty nester, O’Donnell looks to focus on her love of the outdoors. “Although I am a bit old for scaling the face of a mountain, I am looking forward to hiking, and exploring what the Carolinas have to offer. My husband and I are looking to join the world of boating this spring.” And if that is not enough, she is also working on her first book.

By Beth Senko