Thasunda Brown Duckett
Former JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive Thasunda Brown Duckett, M.B.A. ’01, was named president and CEO of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA). Duckett, who earned her Baylor degree through the nationally-ranked Executive MBA program, now serves on the Hankamer School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board. She is widely considered one of the nation’s most successful female Black business executives.
TIAA is a Fortune 100 financial services organization and manages $1.3 trillion in assets through investment funds and retirement accounts. They are the leader in serving the financial needs of those in the academic, government, medical, cultural and other nonprofit fields.
“I am extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity to lead a company that has helped millions of people retire with ‘enough’ to live in dignity and excited about the opportunity to help TIAA chart its next 100 years,” Duckett said.
Duckett succeeds Roger Ferguson, who retired after 13 years as TIAA CEO. She is the first Black executive to be a part of TIAA’s top leadership group. Duckett had been with JPMorgan Chase since 2008, serving as CEO of Chase Consumer Banking since 2016. She led Chase’s first branch expansion in more than a decade.
“My road to becoming a CEO was unconventional at best,” Duckett said. “I come from very modest beginnings; but, from the time I was very young, my parents encouraged me to think big, take risks and grab the opportunities that came my way. Rather than let my economic status define me, I worked hard in school, excelled in sports, went to college and got involved in career training and development programs.”
Duckett was the executive sponsor of JPMorgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways Program, which works to close gaps in wealth, educational and career success for Black Americans. She is also the executive sponsor of The Fellowship Initiative, which provides academic and social support to young men of color. Duckett also was a member of the steering committee for JPMorgan Chase’s Women on the Move Initiative, helping women in business further their careers.
Prior to her latest role with JPMorgan Chase, Duckett was CEO of Chase Auto Finance (2013-2016) and the national retail sales executive for Chase Mortgage Banking (2012-2013).
Duckett currently serves on the boards of Nike Inc., Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the Children’s Learning Center of Fairfield County, Connecticut. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and four children.