Thasunda Brown Duckett, one of the most powerful women in finance, is the President and CEO of TIAA, a retirement and financial services company for academic, research, medical, and governmental workers. She has held the position since 2021 and has participated in 154 internal and external events to talk about the importance of secure retirement income, leadership, ESG investing, and bringing TIAA customers the full value of the enterprise. She is the fourth Black woman in history to serve as a Fortune 500 CEO, and one of two female Black American CEOs to lead a Fortune 500 company.
TIAA’s mission is defined by financial inclusion and opportunity: goals and values Duckett has upheld throughout her career.
Duckett grew up in Texas where her father, Otis, was employed in a warehouse and as a truck driver. He worked so hard to support his family that he wasn't able to adequately save for his own retirement. While she was attending the University of Houston, and later Baylor University, for finance and marketing, Duckett came to understand that her father’s employer had not made him fully aware of the opportunity to save for his later years.
"When I was in college, it really frustrated me that he had access to a 401(k) plan that he never participated in," she said to American Banker. "Was that company's message reaching him to say, 'This is something that is for you'? Now, having the privilege to lead a company like TIAA, I get to think about Otis Brown every day and say, 'Are we doing enough to reach an Otis Brown?'"
This also led Duckett to found and chair The Otis and Rosie Brown Foundation to continue the legacy of her parents and help communities of color close achievement gaps in wealth creation, educational outcomes, and career success.
Prior to joining TIAA, Duckett served as CEO of Chase Consumer Banking and oversaw a network with more than $600 billion in deposits and 50,000 employees. Earlier in her career, she was director of emerging markets at Fannie Mae, where she led strategies aimed at increasing homeownership rates among Black and Hispanic Americans.
Duckett serves on several boards, including those of NIKE, Brex, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Sesame Workshop, the National Medal of Honor Museum, the Economic Club of New York, the University of Houston Board of Visitors, and the Dean’s Advisory Board for Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business.