Lightening the Gloom

In 2004 at the age of 37 Jane Fraser joined Citigroup and became known for her April Fools' Day pranks. Her predilection for practical jokes doesn't seemed to have harmed her career. In 2021 she became the CEO of Citigroup. Her mischievousness continues.

In early 2022, Citigroup Chief Executive Jane Fraser startled her senior team with a request: Please sign these waivers to go skydiving.

Executives questioned the sanity of the bank’s leaders all jumping out of a plane. Does the board know, one of them emailed. I’m not sure my heart is healthy enough, another replied.

Karen Peetz, the chief administrative officer hired to repair Citigroup’s relationships with regulators, tried to calm the kerfuffle. She said she’d gone with her old bank and it was great.

After watching her team squirm for a while, Fraser emailed again: April Fools’.

It was March 31.

In business it requires excellent judgment to discern when humor crosses the line. Hopefully it's reflective of the judgment that will be needed to overcome Citigroup's problems.