Five Questions With: Beth Johnson

Beth Johnson is chief marketing officer and head of consumer strategy at Citizens Financial Group Inc. Johnson recently was named one of the most powerful women in banking by American Banker, a coveted annual award that recognizes the professional achievements of the 25 top-performing women executives in banking and financial services. Johnson talks with Providence Business News about the award, her career and how to succeed as a woman in a male-dominated industry.

PBN: What does it mean to you to receive this type of national recognition?

JOHNSON: It’s exciting when a respected, outside entity takes note of the efforts and accomplishments that are helping our customers and our company reach their potential. In some ways it is humbling because while the recognition is being presented to me, it is really reflective of the great work that my team and I are doing together. We’ve been fortunate to attract top talent at Citizens, and to build a great team that is enabling us to make contributions around innovation, digital channels and customer experience.

 

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PBN: What is your role at Citizens and what are some of the accomplishments for which you are being recognized?

JOHNSON: I am responsible for corporate-wide marketing activities including the brand and customer experience; our virtual channels including digital and the call-center; and for advancing consumer banking growth and profitability by leading and aligning the businesses’ strategy, pricing and data-analytics efforts. Over the past year, my team and I have aligned the company’s overall consumer strategy that supports our vision to be a top-performing regional bank. Customers are at the heart of every initiative, product and decision and, as a result, customer experience scores continue to improve across key metrics.

We have also been driving innovation at the bank. Examples include leading the charge on digital strategy and infrastructure, and transforming the bank’s multichannel acquisition and servicing strategy by leveraging advanced data and analytics capabilities to better meet our customers’ needs. Another good example of this work is what we are doing with our branch network. Recognizing the influential forces reshaping the banking industry and the need to transform our distribution channels to meet changing customer preferences, I partnered with the head of distribution to optimize branch network and redesigning branches to make them more conducive to advice-based conversations about sensitive financial matters. Beyond the immediate benefits for our customers, the savings realized will help the bank to continue to invest in the customer experience in other dimensions ranging from digital to the hiring and training of Citizens colleagues. A major part of this strategy is mobile banking, for which Citizens received the Javelin Mobile Banking Leader Award for the third time.

PBN: How have you had so much success in your banking career?

JOHNSON: I attribute my success to a combination of strategic thinking, hard work and taking advantage of new opportunities. I believe every new challenge prepares you in immeasurable ways for the next. For example, I started my career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs, then went to JPMorgan Chase and then spent 15 years at Bain before coming to Citizens as head of strategy and then my current role as CMO and head of virtual channels. While all related, they are all different in some ways, and each experience has incrementally helped me grow to where I am today.

PBN: In an industry where most executives are men, has it been challenging to succeed in banking as a woman? If there are challenges, what can companies do to eliminate them?

JOHNSON: Women have made headway in the financial-service sector, which is encouraging, but progress is slow. According to a recent Oliver Wyman report, at the current rates of growth, financial services globally will reach 30 percent female executive committee representation by 2048 only. That means that while companies are doing some of the right things, we really need to analyze why this is the case.

I believe that sponsors are incredibly important to achieve success, particularly at the most senior levels of an organization and have been fortunate to have strong sponsors, both men and women, throughout my career. Sponsors are not just a mentor, but someone who is willing to take risks on you and promote you, in essence, co-linking their career to yours. I see companies creating formal mentoring programs to address this need and that is encouraging, however my experience is that formal programs often don’t produce the kind of trusting relationship needed to drive true sponsor relationships.

In financial services, where many of the most senior positions continue to be held by men, I have seen male peers have an easier time developing these deeper relationships with potential sponsors. To overcome this natural bias, women in the top ranks must work harder to seek out these important relationships to further their career. I am optimistic, however, that we will continue to see progress as companies see the value that a diverse workforce brings to the bottom line and look for ways to invest in driving all aspects of diversity across the workplace.

PBN: What’s your advice to other women who might be looking to have successful careers in banking?  

JOHNSON: As it pertains to any career, I would say don’t be afraid to speak up – first and often. If you have a thoughtful idea or a different perspective on a subject, raise it and be prepared to defend it. Banking is a fascinating industry with many different roles that require a variety of different skill sets. As one might expect, an analytical mind is an asset, but it’s important to have diversity at the leadership table, which means different backgrounds that bring new perspectives are welcome. For example, our Consumer and Commercial Banker Development programs encourage graduating college seniors to have a liberal arts background because it brings that diversity. And for those already in the financial-services world, I would say it’s important to take on new roles and experiences to broaden your skill set and in turn your impact.

Eli Sherman is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Sherman@PBN.com, or follow him on Twitter @Eli_Sherman.