Sallie Krawcheck

Meet the “Most Powerful Woman on Wall Street”

Sallie Krawcheck ran Merrill Lynch.

She was CFO of Citigroup.

Oversaw 13,000 brokers at Smith Barney.

Fortune called her “The Last Honest Analyst”.

Forbes named her one of the world’s most powerful women.

But power didn’t protect her when she did something radical: stand up for the customer.

In 2008, Sallie fought for Citigroup to reimburse clients for faulty investments.

Leadership disagreed.

So she left... just months before the financial crash.

When Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch, she came back to lead its wealth division.

Within two years, she turned $3.1B in profit. While the rest of the bank posted an $8.8B loss.

And then she was ousted again.

So in 2016, Sallie stopped trying to fix Wall Street.

She decided to reinvent it.

She co-founded Ellevest, the first digital investment platform built by and for women.

It launched with a mission: close the gender investing gap and get more money in the hands of women.

Critics said it was too niche.

She said, “Nothing bad happens when women have more money.”

Ten years later, Ellevest has $2.4B in assets under management, a 4.9-star rating on NerdWallet, and a social community more engaged than any other U.S. financial firm.

It’s been named one of Entrepreneur’s Top 100 Brilliant Ideas.

It rang the NYSE opening bell during Women’s History Month.

Sallie helped coin the term: The Feminization of Wealth.

But now, at the company’s 10-year anniversary, Sallie is stepping down as CEO to focus on her health.

Her next act? Serving on Ellevest’s board and continuing the mission she started.