As CEO of U.S. branded cards and lending at Citi-group, Habner has developed noteworthy marketing approaches with credit card products. One of her recent innovations is the True Name Initiative, which allows cardholders to use their self-identified, chosen name on a credit card. “We found that there were segments of the consumer world—largely nonbinary and LGBTQ+ consumers—who did not feel their card reflected who they were. In some cases they were the recipients of negative reactions,” Habner says. “We’ve had more than 30,000 people take advantage of this, and it is impactful to their daily lives.”

“Pam’s brilliance as a marketer comes from her empathy for the human condition,” says Jill Avery, marketing professor at Harvard Business School. “Pam strives to understand her customers as people first before she considers them as possible consumers and, in doing so, designs solutions for them that address the significant needs that are currently arising in their lives.” Last year customers filled a thread on Reddit with praise of Habner and her Citi Custom Cash card, which won a 2022 Smart Money Award from Real Simple.

Habner’s road to financial services ran through a dual major program that combined mathematics with psychology, followed by Harvard Business School. “Those behavioral and economic insights have served me really well in business and marketing throughout my career,” says Habner, who lives in Bronxville, New York, with her husband and twin 10-year-old sons.