Russia was on the minds of many a business in 2022, but few will have thought as hard about it as Sharon Blackman OBE, managing director and general counsel at Citi. That’s because Citi was more exposed than most to the country: with a Russian subsidiary as well as Russian counterparties more generally, it comprised a large part of the global investment bank’s franchise. That meant a large part of Blackman’s year was taken up with navigating sanctions and working out how to wind down operations after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The speed at which sanctions were changing, and keeping an eye on the often-inconsistent actions of the UK, USA and EU, then giving appropriate advice to the business, meant she and her team worked seven days a week for over two months straight.
The good thing about a crisis, Blackman, says, is not only that you learn a lot but it also gives space for other people within the team to step up and take responsibility. As 2023 dawns, hopefully Russian activities will take up less bandwidth. Blackman returns to looking at business expansion plans that were forced into the background last year, but which have nonetheless progressed thanks to the diligence of her colleagues. That in itself is testament to a leader who can put trust in others.