On today's episode of Behind Her Empire, meet Sallie Krawcheck, the CEO and co-founder of Ellevest. Her company is an investment platform focused on narrowing the gender gap and creating a space for women in finance.
Krawcheck wants to put money "in the hands of women" with her fund, and she's well on her way. Ellevest, which launched in 2016, recently announced it has $1 billion under management.
Before starting her own company, Krawcheck was a top dog on Wall Street. She was a CEO of Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, US Trust Cities Private Bank and Sanford Bernstein. She was also the CFO of Citigroup. Previously, Krawcheck was a top-ranked research analyst covering the securities industry. She's widely recognized as one of the most influential women in business and has been recognized by INC Magazine as a top female founder. She's also been called "the last honest analyst" by Fortune magazine and was named the seventh most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.
In this episode, Krawcheck discusses how directors in Wall Street turned her down because she was a mother, how she was continually underestimated by men, how she dealt with two public firings, and what inspired her to start Ellevest. She also touches on how women should invest, and why talking about money is the first step to eliminating pay disparities.
"The director of research at Smith Barney turned me down and was polite enough to call me and tell me why. He said, '...We found out you have a baby at home, so we don't think you work very hard.' And I'm like, 'all right'. Years later, I fired him when he worked for me because he didn't work very hard." — Sallie Krawcheck
Sallie Krawcheck is the co-founder and CEO of Ellevest, an investment platform designed for women, by women.