FWA To Honor Citigroup's Marge Magner and Women's Venture Fund Found

    Business Editors

    NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 2005--The Financial Women's Association (FWA), the finance industry's premier professional organization for high-achieving women, will honor Marge Magner, chairman and CEO, Citigroup Global Consumer Group, and Maria Otero, founder and president of the Women's Venture Fund, Inc., at its annual dinner Wednesday, May 11 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
    "Marge Magner and Maria Otero are both consummate professionals," said Kelly Mathieson, FWA president and a managing director of JP Morgan. "We honor them for their business achievements and their commitment to improving opportunities for women."
    Marge Magner, the association's private sector Woman of the Year, leads Citigroup's efforts to serve customers through credit cards, retail banking, and consumer finance. Ms. Magner is a member of Citigroup's Management Committee, chair of the Global Consumer Planning Group and chairman of the Citigroup Foundation. She assumed her current position in 2003, having joined CitiFinancial, a predecessor company to Citigroup, in 1987. She currently serves as a Trustee for the Brooklyn College Foundation and as a member of the Dean's Advisory Council for the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. Ms. Magner is also a member of the Board of Overseers of Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University. Having served on a number of boards devoted to women's and children's issues, Ms. Magner is a tireless advocate for financial education, diversity and community involvement.
    Ten years ago, public sector honoree Maria Otero founded the Women's Venture Fund, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to assisting minority women and women from low-income neighborhoods to become successful entrepreneurs. Since then, its unique combination of training, micro loans, mentoring, and peer support has benefited the lives of more than 10,000 women and their neighborhoods. The WVF is a "sustainable" Women's Business Center, qualifying it to receive funds annually from the Small Business Administration. A former litigating attorney at the New York State Department of Public Service and at the New York State Department of Law, Ms. Otero began her career in public service as Counsel to the New York State Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus.
    Proceeds from the dinner support the Financial Women's Association Educational Fund, which helps educate young women about careers in the financial services industry through mentoring programs and scholarships at both the high school and college levels. The fund also supports the FWA's Financial Backback Program, which develops financial literacy seminars for educational institutions as well as professional development and educational programs for the general business community.
    More information about the event is available at http://www.fwa.org/index_calendar_2005_0511_adinner.htm

    Founded in 1956, the Financial Women's Association is the leading professional organization for women in financial services. The FWA serves more than 1100 members through leadership experience, programs that enhance their knowledge and skills, and a widened professional network. In addition, it also works to encourage future generations to seek career opportunities in business and finance through its nationally acclaimed scholarship, mentoring, and training programs.

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CONTACT: Financial Women's Association (FWA) Margaret Draper, 212-618-0531 mdraper@sia.com

KEYWORD: NEW YORK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING SOURCE: Citigroup

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