Designing Woman

You won't find her name in Citigroup's annual report, but Mayling McCormick is considered the most influential force behind the Citi brand. Operating as a consultant, she has had the ear of Citigroup chief Sandy Weill for the past eight years, resisting repeated overtures to become a member of his staff."She knows what she's doing," says a colleague. "A big reason she's kept her role for so long is because she keeps a certain distance."Married to a business executive, the Duke University grad maintains a flexible schedule that buys her freedom from office tedium and politics. Since Citigroup is her only client, she is readily available to Weill and some of Citigroup's consultants and agencies. By all accounts, Weill, known for his volatility, treats her respectfully and is swayed by her marketing insights. He recognizes that she is strong in areas where he is weak, refined in ways he is not. McCormick, with characteristic politeness, confirms her key position in brand planning, but declines to elaborate. Elegant, with honey-colored hair and classic good looks, she stands out and commands attention at Citigroup. Yet she is reluctant to seek the spotlight. Born in Cuba and raised in New Jersey, McCormick is well-traveled, cosmopolitan and fluent in Spanish, associates say. Young agency creatives describe the 40-something McCormick as a "dignified, conservative and proper" lady. "You know, the kind who wears pearls," says one staffer. "She's calm, not demanding and not overtly ambitious," says an account executive who works closely with the client. "She respects the process involved in advertising and knows there are no magic tricks," adds an account manager. McCormick knows the industry firsthand. In the late '80s, she worked at Ogilvy & Mather, New York, as a management supervisor on the American Express account. She was a key player behind the creation of AmEx ads, especially those aimed at women and college students, say former AmEx executives. Interestingly, her then boss, Brendan Ryan, now chief executive of FCB Worldwide, went on to orchestrate Citibank advertising in the early '90s.In 2000, she chaired a study of the Citigroup brand conducted by Mercer Consulting Group. She now guides brand research done by the company and its roster of ad agencies, including McCann-Erickson and Merkley Newman Harty in New York and Fallon in Minneapolis.Insiders are intrigued by the dynamic of McCormick and rising star Anne MacDonald, head of Citibank global marketing. As the voice of the overarching Citigroup brand—with the red umbrella logo it borrowed from Travelers insurance—McCormick oversees all the Citigroup brands, including MacDonald's Citibank and Citi monikers. MacDonald is more assertive, hip and less deferential than McCormick; she's gotten close to Weill in the last year via the growing Citi brand and his focus on consumers. While some of their goals and credentials overlap, each woman is too smart to try to overpower the other, say colleagues."She's a thoroughbred in a Citigroup corporate culture that is casual and polyester," says one executive of McCormick. "It would be wise not to underestimate her."

Brand Marketing

Designing Woman

Joan Voight

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Joan Voight