Valerie Smith

Val Smith was appointed Citi’s first Chief Sustainability Officer in 2019 and has been with the bank since 2004. She oversees Citi’s Sustainability & ESG team, with responsibility for the bank’s 2025 Sustainable Progress Strategy and priority initiatives, including the $250 Billion Environmental Finance Goal. Val leads Citi’s implementation of the Principles for Responsible Banking and oversees its climate risk disclosure. She is also an advisor and spokesperson on sustainable finance, Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) implementation, stakeholder engagement, human rights, ESG integration and sustainability trends towards a net zero carbon economy.

Prior to joining Citi, Val spent a decade working in the environmental sector, including the National Audubon Society, Brainerd Foundation, and the Houston Advanced Research Center. She began her career with the United States Peace Corps, where she served for two years as an environmental specialist in Honduras.

She serves on the boards of the United Nations Global Compact US Network and the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, and is a member of the Institute for International Finance Sustainable Finance Working Group Steering Committee, the UNEP FI Global Steering Committee, and the Aspen Institute Leaders Forum. Val earned her MBA from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and her BA in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons.