Power Women 2021: Anastasia Blaylock
EVP, Chief Strategy Officer
Citizens Bank
What’s your secret to success?
I genuinely love what I do, who I work with, and who I work for. It sounds super simple and not secretive at all, but if you can find that combination, the sky is the limit.
What attracted you to your career?
Banking is really just about building relationships. I think that is what attracted me and what has kept me engaged all these years.
How did you get started in your field?
From the ground up! I started as a bank teller. The rest is history.
What do you love best about what you do?
I love that my job touches every part of the bank. I also love that strategy is a living breathing thing that changes and must be nurtured. But mostly, I enjoy that I get to take a big thing like strategy and break it down into a lot of little things and then see those things make an impact.
What advice would you give a young woman starting her career?
Be coachable. Take criticism well and then use that criticism to get better. Always say yes to the jobs and tasks that nobody else wants to do. Accept early on that there will be failures. Learn from them and don’t be ashamed. Wear them like armor. Learn to be collaborative without seeking validation and most importantly, be optimistic, always.
How did your education prepare you for your career?
I have a degree in finance from Centenary College of Louisiana. Money and Banking was by far my favorite class. It taught me the fundamentals of the financial system and left me fascinated with the industry as a whole. But, my real education started the first day I showed up on the job.
