Sallie Krawcheck, the pioneering Wall Street veteran who helped found Ellevest, the wealth-management firm with portfolios geared toward women, is stepping down as CEO for health reasons.
"As they say, you can have 1,000 problems in your life until you have a health problem. And then you only have one problem,"
Ellevest will be run by co-CEOs Sylvia Kwan, who will remain chief investment officer, and Connie Hsiung, who will continue as chief operating officer and finance chief. Krawcheck, who regularly ranks on annual lists of Wall Street's most powerful women, said she will provide guidance as part of the firm's board.
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Krawcheck rose to prominence more than two decades ago as a star bank analyst at research boutique Sanford C. Bernstein, which she eventually led. Fortune then dubbed her "the last honest analyst," spotlighting her integrity at a time when others were caught pitching frothy stocks to small investors.
Former Citigroup CEO Sanford Weill turned to her to help restore his Smith Barney brokerage unit's image, and his successor named her chief financial officer when it was the world's largest financial institution. She later ran global wealth management there before heading up wealth management for Bank of America.
She started Ellevest in 2016.
"I love our mission to get more money in the hands of women, and I love that we have had a positive impact on so many of you — and your sisters, your friends, your moms, your wives, and your daughters," she wrote on Tuesday. "My focus will be on my health, so I will not be involved in the day-to-day, but my heart will always be with our mission."
