Pam Habner on Making Business More Inclusive

Suzanne Grandt
2 min readSep 9, 2021

Lending and U.S. Branded Cards at Citi are headed by Pam Habner. These organizations have a history of successfully launching products and features that meet the changing needs of the company’s customers. One of those innovative products was Citi’s Custom Cash Card. This was designed to reward all who use it and change their shopping behaviors. The chosen name feature enables the cardholders to use their self-identified chosen first name. This can be done without the necessity of a legal name change. Pam Habner is known for discovering opportunities in each challenge to provide a more inclusive business culture.

Initiatives That Matter

Habner is determined to use her influence to champion topics that matter. She has dedicated herself to helping create a more inclusive and equitable culture. Habner believes leaders can make a significant difference by taking a stand on specific social issues.

Powerless

One thing Habner refuses to do is feel powerless. She feels every situation provides a special opportunity. When she is facing a difficult challenge, Habner focuses her energy on things she can control. She will try to discover the silver lining in any situation.

Power Icon

Pam Habner’s power icon is Michelle Obama. Habner believes Michelle Obama is authentic, strong, passionate as well as confident. She feels Michelle Obama lives her values, and she finds that very inspiring. Habner regularly borrows Michele Obama’s words of wisdom with her nine-year-old twin boys. One of her favorites is “when they go low, we go high.”

Feeling Powerful

There are certain things Habner likes to wear when she wants to feel powerful. She will channel the wardrobe of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is from a time when the Supreme Court Justice had her nomination announcement and confirmation hearing. Habner wears cobalt blue. She feels it is fierce, bold, and bright. Habner’s power anthem is Respect by Aretha Franklin.

Pam Habner has a proven track record as a leader who is forward-thinking as well as inspiring. She has a history of guiding her teams to develop products that are client-centric. These are products that meet the financial needs of all people in unique and creative ways. Habner is in charge of the Citi Thankyou Rewards platform. This provides customers with innovative lending solutions. It also focused on providing an overall positive credit card experience for customers.

Originally published at https://suzannegrandt.com.

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Suzanne Grandt

Suzanne is the Assistant General Counsel for @StateBarCA. Graduate of Boston University.