经济类文章精选：SALLIE KRAWCHECK
13 SALLIE KRAWCHECK
CEO of Citigroup's new Smith Barney unit
AS A TRACK STAR in high school, Sallie Krawcheck ranked among her state's best at the high jump. But she hasn't jumped for anyone since, and her unshakable independence has propelled her career on Wall Street to heights unimaginable to a girl coming of age in Charleston, S.C., in the 1970s. Then, Krawcheck--always an outstanding student--thought mostly of cheerleading and "dating the coolest boy," she acknowledges. "She was in danger of becoming terminally cute," recalls her high school guidance counselor, Nancy Wise, who recognized Krawcheck's potential early and stoked her business ambitions. Today Krawcheck, 37, is one of the most powerful women in the corporate world and a rising star.
How far she climbs depends on how well she meets her latest challenge: closing the credibility gap at financial-services giant Citigroup, after government inquiries put a cloud over the firm's reputation--and its stock. Krawcheck was hired in October from the independent stock-research firm Sanford C. Bernstein (where she was CEO) to be Citi's designated savior. Citigroup's proud CEO, Sanford Weill, personally wooed her, reorganizing a large chunk of Citi around her. Krawcheck is now CEO of a reconstituted Smith Barney, which encompasses Citi's stock-research and retail-brokerage operations.
This large stage leaves Krawcheck outwardly undaunted. She's relaxed and confident, with a self-deprecating sense of humor. She says she's "incredibly insecure," and has had nightmares in which she fails to win the respect of her new colleagues. But this soft-spoken humility belies a toughness present from the start. Daughter of a lawyer and sister of three more, Krawcheck learned early on to substantiate her assertions--or keep quiet.
"It used to get quite interesting around the dinner table," says her father Lenny, who p