Brandee McHale, President of Citi Foundation, In Conversation with Denver Frederick
Denver: Financial institutions play a particularly important role in society. Their ability to leverage capital, both in the country where they’re based and around the world, can help accelerate real and lasting change. That also holds true for their philanthropy and the investments they make in purpose-driven businesses. And it’s a pleasure to have with us someone who plays a pivotal role in one of the most influential and significant of these financial institutions. She is Brandee McHale, the President of the Citi Foundation and the Head of Corporate Citizenship at Citigroup. Good evening Brandee, and welcome to The Business of Giving.
Brandee: Thank you. It’s nice to be here. Thank you for having me.
Denver: It sounds like just one of those jobs would be more than enough for me. But it’s interesting that you carry both titles. So, let’s begin with that. How does the mission and purpose of the Citi Foundation intersect, overlap, reinforce what’s going on at Citigroup to be a good corporate citizen.
Brandee: I think this is an incredibly innovative and interesting time to be in a role like this at a private sector company. I was named the President of the Citi Foundation in 2015, and along with it came the title to be the Head of Corporate Citizenship. I will tell you, I started as a summer intern in the Citi Foundation in 1991. I never dreamed that one day, I would actually be the president, but here I am! The interesting thing about that is I got the job I always wanted and just at that time, I began to recognize that if we were really going to drive and maximize positive social impact, our philanthropy was important. But really what was going to make the difference was how we leverage the additional resources of our company.