Going Global: Webinar Series

Thierry joined Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) in 2012 to develop its U.S. business strategy for the technology sector and started the U.S. Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) Group, covering companies from $100 million to $3+billion in revenues. In 2016, Thierry expanded the model globally for the digital sub-sector and launched the Commercial Bank Global Digital Segment, with operations in EMEA, APAC, LATAM and Mexico.​

In late 2018, he extended coverage in the U.S. by establishing the Digital Venture Banking Group to focus on early-stage, venture-backed companies from Series A to C (or 100MM in revenues). With this latest addition, Citi Commercial Bank has a strategically aligned team of over 130 bankers dedicated to the technology and digital space globally. In June 2022, Thierry became CCB’s 1st Global Industry Head, combining Digital, Tech and Comms.​

Through these businesses, Citi Commercial Bank delivers credit and non-credit services, including domestic and global cash management, foreign exchange, trade finance, revolving lines of credit, term loans, acquisition financing, capital market transactions, and personal wealth management. ​

Thierry is a Business Senior Credit Officer (SCO) and, given the digital segment’s involvement with FinTech companies, he is a voting member of the Citi-wide Payment Intermediaries Oversight Committee (PIOC). Prior to joining Citi, Thierry worked at Wells Fargo in various senior leadership roles, including the establishment of the Technology Banking Group of a joint venture between Wells Fargo and HSBC.​

Thierry has a BSBA Magna Cum Laude in Finance from Northern Arizona University and an MBA from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management. Thierry holds FINRA Licenses 79, 63 and 24. He is based in San Francisco, California. ​

Rob Garlick is responsible for thematic content at Citi Global Insights, including digitisation, innovation and the Future of Work. Previous roles include: Head of Citi Research EMEA from 2016- 2021, rising from: #7 to #1 in UK Institutional Investor survey, #9 to #2 in Western European, and #7 to #1 globally: Global Product Head at Citi Research, driving industry-leading thematic content (#1 rated by Extel); Fund Management, passing the AIIMR as a prize-winner in Interpretation of Accounts & Corporate Finance; and a qualified Executive Coach.

Dr. Prag Sharma leads Citi’s Global Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence (AI CoE). He is one of only 10 Citi Tech Fellows globally. He us a resident expert in Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning (AI/ML) across the organization. Prag has led the development of Citi-wide best-practices from a Governance, Risk & Controls and Technology perspective in AI, addressed AI-related infrastructure and tooling needs across the organisation and enabled state-of-the-art AI design, development and use at Citi across all its businesses. Prag represents Citi externally and has led numerous high-profile engagements with clients, global regulators, trade bodies, regional/ other advisory committees and external experts in the world of AI. Prag has led R&D teams and technology consultants in both industry and academia for over 15 years, working on emerging technologies with start-ups and multinationals in the Financial Services, Health, Technology and Pharmaceutical sectors. He also co-founded two start-ups in his previous life.  Prag holds a PhD in Machine Learning (Computer Vision) and an MBA, majoring in Innovation.

Helen Krause is a Managing Director and Head of Data Science Insights with over 23 years of industry experience. In her current role, Helen has spearheaded the team’s efforts in ESG AI data research, before broadening out to climate risk including carbon accounting, transition risk and physical risk models and respective vendor space more recently. She and her team also have researched into how alternative data and data science could help investors to navigate through the pandemic, supply chain disruptions and apply natural language processing in thematic investing. Prior to this, she was a Senior Quant Researcher in EMEA and initiated big data research within the team. She was also responsible for new alpha idea generation, thematic research, industry-specific factor research and macro risk modelling. Before Citi, she spent close to 10 years on the buyside as a Senior Portfolio Manager/Researcher at Morgan Stanley, BGI/Blackrock and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. She started her career at Citi Private Bank and Schroders Salomon Smith Barney.