2024 Top 15 Chief Diversity Officers Bring Excellence to DEIB Progress

Erika Irish Brown Drives Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Through Transparency, Metrics and Engagement



Erika Irish Brown is the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer and Global Head of Talent at Citi, responsible for leading Citi’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, as well as its talent, succession planning and leadership development for the firm’s 240,000 employees across the globe.


Under her leadership, the organization has transformed its employee resource group model, democratized and standardized its talent mobility model for internal career growth, increased transparency on pay equity progress and managing director promotions, and expanded support for religious inclusion and social mobility. Citi also met its 2018-2021 aspirational goals and expanded its 2025 aspirational goals to be more global and inclusive.


An innovator in diversity, equity and inclusion, Erika firmly believes in data-driven, informed strategies to articulate the business case for DEI and create successful talent programs that show business value and impact. Under her leadership Citi launched a global Self-ID campaign, significantly increasing the number of employees who voluntarily shared their demographic data, providing deeper insights into Citi’s workforce. This data is used to improve and better meet the needs of employees across a range of initiatives including the health benefits, leadership development programs and employee networks offered to colleagues.


  • Favorite Quote: Service is the rent we pay for room on this earth. — Shirley Chisholm