Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan is used to commanding over 200,000 employees, but when it comes to his own children, he is content to let them make their own career decisions.
Moynihan, who has headed Bank of America (No. 18 in the Fortune 500) since January 2010, spoke with David Rubenstein at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.’s event on Tuesday morning. Rubenstein, chair of the club and cofounder of private equity firm the Carlyle Group, asked Moynihan about his experience as one of eight children growing up in Ohio, where his father worked as a research chemist for DuPont.
“Probably when I was in college was the first time I ever had a bedroom to myself,” Moynihan quipped. The future CEO attended Brown University. Last year, he took on the volunteer position as chancellor of the Corporation of Brown University, its governing body.
Moynihan also wears another hat as a husband and father of three. His oldest child is an investment banker for a different firm, his middle child is a risk manager for another financial services firm, and his youngest child works in communications. Asked by Rubenstein if he pushed his children to follow in his footsteps, the chief executive replied that he encouraged them to choose their own paths.
“Look, being a CEO’s child is not the easiest thing,” Moynihan said. “They saw me work in different ways across the years, and so it’s their decision on what their careers are.”
Research has shown that parents are a strong influence on their children as they begin to think about what kind of career path to pursue, and oftentimes influence can turn into pressure. In addition, for children of well-known parents, it can be hard to find a voice as an individual.
For CEOs of big companies, there’s the issue of time management between work and family life. And often they miss out on spending time with their children regularly. This has led some CEOs to the conclusion that “work-life balance” doesn’t exist.
During his conversation with Moynihan, Rubenstein also brought up the topic of DEI. As some Fortune 500 companies are rolling back diversity policies, he asked about Bank of America’s status. The company has diverse teams and “we stress inclusion,” said Moynihan, chair of the firm’s global diversity and inclusion council. A Bank of America corporate filing released today showed the company has dropped references to diverse hiring goals as well as a rule mandating managers to consider a diverse group of candidates, Reuters reported. The update is a change from policies laid out in the bank’s proxy statement last year.
“We think about creating opportunities for our teammates,” Moynihan told Rubenstein. For example, through a program called Pathways started in 2018, Bank of America recruits talent via partnerships with nonprofit organizations, he said. The company has hired over 10,000 people from low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. And Bank of America has employee resource groups with thousands of members, Moynihan said.
