How Did I Get Here?

Beth Mooney

Chief executive officer and chairman, KeyCorp
  • Education
  • Aldine Senior High School, Houston, class of 1973
  • University of Texas at Austin, class of 1977
  • Southern Methodist University, MBA, class of 1983
  • Work Experience
  • 1978–79
    Secretary, First City National Bank of Houston
  • 1979–88
    Vice president of commercial lending, division manager, Republic Bank
  • 1988–89
    President, Resource Savings Association, Hall Financial Group
  • 1990–93
    Division manager, senior vice president, Citicorp Real Estate
  • 1993–98
    Senior executive roles, Bank One Ohio
  • 2000–06
    Executive vice president, chief financial officer, AmSouth Bancorp
  • 2006–11
    Vice chair, president, chief operating officer, KeyCorp
  • 2011–Present
    CEO and chairman, KeyCorp
  • Life Lessons
  • “When you aspire to be a CEO, it’s a slippery slope—not everyone will get on your side.”
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  • “Care about people. That’s the balancer to ambition. You have to be values-based.”
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  • “As a senior, I was a Pizza Hut waitress in Houston—a lot of rodeo boys on Friday nights.”
  • Leading a flash mob for KeyCorp’s annual day of volunteer service, 2013
  • “A troubled savings and loan that I was hired to recapitalize. We weren’t successful. The government took it over: They had people come in from D.C. and interrogate me for hours without food, water, or bathroom breaks.”
  • “I moved cities nine times in 16 years. I’m single, and committees of one can be very nimble. I’ve never looked for a house for more than 48 hours.”
  • “It was a chance to shift my career from a workout lender to making loans and being a real banker.”
  • 14,000 employees, more than 2 million clients, and $94.2 billion in assets
  • Chatting with an employee in 2012
  • Aldine Senior High School yearbook photo, 1973
  • “It was the only job I could get. I’d graduated summa cum laude, and people asked me how fast I could type.”
  • “I learned that it’s a wonderful thing when others underestimate you. I landed some very big deals. People were shocked.”
  • Speaking at an awards dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, 2014
  • “I’m the first and currently only female CEO of a top U.S. bank. I hope that when I retire it’s a footnote, not a headline.”