VANESSA COLELLACHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER, CITI

VANESSA COLELLA

CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER, CITI

INNOVATION STATEMENT

In order for innovation to thrive, you need to focus on building the right culture. With the right talent in place, anything is possible. One thing that is hugely important to me is helping to build a more diverse pipeline of talent that will ultimately catalyze innovation and drive growth.

 

PIVOTAL MOMENT

The job that prepared me the most for being CIO was being a teacher. For one thing, after handling a room of 8th graders, a room of skeptical executives doesn’t seem so challenging. Second, being a teacher makes you a great listener and being able to truly understand to a client challenge or an organizational pain point is critical in order to deliver an innovative solution.

CURRENT CURIOSITY

In 2020 at Davos I spoke about “Artificial Enlightenment (AE),” a new horizon for AI use. In this new era we see opportunities to use computational tools not just to mimic human intelligence through AI, but to leverage it through AE, across industries and disciplines, in the public and private sectors, to solve some of our most pressing global challenges from healthcare to climate to inequity.

SUPERPOWERS

Bravery, Curiosity, Empathy