During my decade at Citi, I have had the opportunity to work in a number of roles including marketing, venture investing and now as chief innovation officer. My current role is likely my most challenging and rewarding
one yet.
Many of us in corporate venture capital (CVC)face the same challenge: striking the balance between identifying, developing and partnering with the next wave of world-changing startups, while also finding new ways to leverage those partnerships to best serve our clients.
Leading a team of innovative thinkers and investors at a centuries-old institution like Citi is a momentous challenge, which is exactly why it was so humbling for me to receive the GCV Rising Stars award in 2016.
Not only did I see this award as validation that the work we are doing at Citi Ventures is important to Citi and the financial services industry as a whole, but that we are making a direct impact on our partners and customers around the world.
When I received this honour in 2016, many believed fintech startups were recklessly challenging the status quo and out to destroy modern banks. What we have seen, experienced and acted upon at Citi challenges that notion: we believe that partnership will move banks and fintechs forward and that both are stronger together.
This notion of “better together” has since caught on, and we have not only continued to invest in dozens of incredible startups, such as Grab, Zum, Second Measure and Even Financial, we have partnered with them to bring new solutions to our clients.
We have also seen promising collaboration across Citi’s venture investing and corporate innovation teams. Take HighRadius as an example: following our investment in the company in 2018, Citi launched a partnership with HighRadius to bring efficiency and automation of the cash application process in invoices and payments received for our corporate clients. This past June, we announced our partnership with Grab to develop a Citi-Grab credit card for global users to get the benefits of both brands.
Citi’s corporate innovation model, D10X, has also made tremendous strides. Just recently, we joined a consortium of five other large trade banks to invest in Trade Information Network (TIN), a centralised information registry that allows banks to extend financing much deeper in the supply chain. TIN started its journey in D10X, where it was ideated, tested, developed and spun out to support wider adoption as its own startup.
At Citi Ventures, we strive to leverage the power of Citi to help people, businesses and communities thrive amid change. Every year, the GCV award winners provide us with new inspiration and insights as we look to fulfill our mission. Each winner is striving toward a more innovative and forward-thinking approach to CVC by learning from one another, we can make even more of an impact towards progress. Congratulations to this year’s GCV’s recipients. I look forward to learning from you all.