A year ago, Thasunda Brown Duckett took the top job at retirement services and investment firm TIAA. Her tenure has been something of a baptism by fire, as TIAA participants worry about their retirement savings amid ballooning inflation and a sputtering stock market. Duckett came to TIAA from her most recent role as CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, a division of JPMorgan. She worked for the financial giant for 17 years.
Duckett is one of only two Black women helming Fortune 500 companies, Fortune’s Emma Hinchliffe wrote in The Broadsheet this morning. (The other is Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Roz Brewer.)
But that doesn’t make diversity in corporate America her issue alone to solve, she told Fortune’s Susie Gharib in an exclusive interview to mark her first year at TIAA. “It’s not just my responsibility; it’s the responsibility of the boards, of all the companies that may not have the level of representation, as well as my allies and my counterparts leading companies.”
Among those allies: her former boss, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who she says has kept in close touch with her over her inaugural year at TIAA.
“He definitely is one of the most impactful CEOs of our time,” Duckett told Ghairb. “What I can tell you is that when I was named CEO of TIAA, Jamie checked in on me.”
The two have remained in regular contact since she left the bank. “He’s one of the people that checks in to see how I’m doing,” Duckett said. “He’ll read what’s going on at TIAA and give me his perspective. I value and appreciate that he’s always been a teacher, and he continues to be available.”
Duckkett added that she’s hopeful she’ll be able to make an even bigger impact at TIAA than she did under Dimon’s tutelage at Chase.