Sallie Krawcheck

Sallie Krawcheck is the CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, a pioneering digital investment platform for women, and one of the most powerful women in the history of Wall Street. She previously served as CEO of Smith Barney and head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, overseeing trillions of dollars in client assets and leading some of the largest financial services organizations in the world.

From Wall Street Power Broker to Financial Feminist

Krawcheck rose to the highest levels of Wall Street before founding Ellevest to address the gender investing gap the reality that women invest less than men, start investing later, and leave significant wealth on the table as a result. She is also chair of Ellevate Network, a global professional women’s network, and the Pax Ellevate Global Women’s Index Fund, which invests in top-rated companies for advancing women. Her career trajectory from Wall Street executive to financial technology entrepreneur makes her one of the most compelling voices on leadership, disruption, and gender equity.

Closing the Gender Investing Gap

Krawcheck’s presentations draw on her unique experience leading both legacy Wall Street firms and a disruptive fintech startup. Her keynotes deliver expert insights on the future of investing and financial services, closing the gender investing gap as a business imperative, leadership lessons from the top of Wall Street, and empowering women financially as both a moral and economic opportunity.

Diversity as a Competitive Advantage

As demographics and buying power shift, diversity has moved from being a fairness issue to also being a significant business driver. In a multitude of research studies, diversity in senior management has been linked to superior business results, leading to higher returns, lower risk, greater long-term focus, increased innovation and improved stockholder returns. Despite this, progress in corporate America has stalled. As a former senior Wall Street executive and now owner of the professional woman’s network, 85 Broads, Sallie Krawcheck provides unique insights, based on real-world experience into how companies can improve their diversity results.

Leadership Lessons Learned from Working for 7 (Yes, 7) Financial Services CEOs in the Best and Toughest of Times

Sallie Krawcheck has been on the front lines of financial services for the past two-plus decades. During that time, she has led and managed complex businesses through some of the most volatile markets in history. At the same time, she has had a front-row seat in working directly for seven financial services CEOs, at all points in their career spectra, gleaning important insights into leadership during crisis on what works and what fails. Offering sharp insight, laced with humor, Sallie Krawcheck lays out the most important lessons in leadership, and particularly in leadership under fire.

Lessons for Women in Business from the Most Senior Woman in the Most Male of Businesses

Krawcheck has been on the front lines of financial services for the past two-plus decades. During that time, she has led and managed complex businesses through some of the most volatile markets in history. At the same time, she has had a front-row seat in working directly for seven financial services CEOs, at all points in their career spectra, gleaning important insights into leadership during crisis on what works and what fails. Offering sharp insight, laced with humor, Krawcheck lays out the most important lessons in leadership, and particularly in leadership under fire.

Women and Money: Insights from the Most Powerful Woman on Wall Street

The U.S. is in the midst of a financial planning crisis and nowhere more so than among women. Women live on average six years longer than men, but save just two-thirds as much for retirement. The causes are widespread, from earning less than men at every stage of their careers to outsourcing financial management to the men in their lives.

This talk can be tailored to women’s groups looking for how to engage on this, or to financial services firms who see this as a business opportunity: For women’s groups Krawcheck brings practical advice and tips, learned both from her business background, as well as from her own personal experience, for women at every stage of their lives. For businesses the business opportunity that this presents is significant, but it’s not as easy as putting a pink bow on the checking account. Many firms have failed in the pursuit of women. Krawcheck offers insights into this important and growing market, which derive from her business as well as her personal experiences.

The Outsider Inside: The Last Honest Analyst on the Future of Financial Services

As a top-ranked research analyst, a chief financial officer and senior manager in financial services over the past 20 years, Sallie Krawcheck has an unmatched perspective on the financial services industry. It is an industry whose future is uncertain, given stepped-up regulation, populist anger, an unfavorable operating environment and the increasing importance of technology. Unraveling the secular from the merely cyclical is challenging but crucial, both for the industry, as well as for the broader economy. Krawcheck does so with an insider’s knowledge and an analysts perspective.