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Giving Back: Mentoring Veterans

April 30, 2014
Jeanne Monteil-Anatra, Global Head of Marketing for Citi Trust
Peter Daytz, Citi Trust's Global Head of Investments, left, and
Frank Segarra, Citi Private Bank Managing Director.
 

"I was awestruck by what Sid had accomplished and wanted to help," said Peter Daytz, Citi Trust's Global Head of Investments, when asked why he mentors veterans under the American Corporate Partners program.

 
"Sid" (Sidney E. Goodfriend) is a close friend of Peter's from business school, who founded American Corporate Partners (ACP) in 2008. ACP is a nonprofit organization that provides a mentoring program for veterans. ACP pairs veterans with professionals from some of America's top corporations and select universities. According to Peter, "His idea was to give veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan a tool for networking and long-term career development and connect them with mentors in the corporate world to help them transition back into the work force." Sid, a former investment banker, knew firsthand the benefit of mentors and wanted to give veterans the same kind of opportunity. Leveraging his connections in the corporate world, Sid began the program with six corporate partners and 150 corporate employees.
 
The number of corporate partners grew steadily under Sid's stewardship and as the financial crisis eased up, he began to look at approaching financial services firms. Peter teamed up with Banker Frank Segarra to encourage influential Citi colleagues to support Citi's participation.
 
In 2011, with support from Citi Community Development, which manages Citi's company-wide commitment to veterans and military families - Citi Salutes - the initiative was launched. Since then, Peter, Frank and more than 70 Citi employees (including Peter Charrington, Chief Executive Officer, North America, Citi Private Bank) have signed up to be mentors.
 
Peter Daytz has mentored two veterans to date. While mentoring is tailored to the needs of each individual, Peter has introduced his protégés to Citi colleagues so that they can learn about the different roles in their field and start networking. He helps them fine-tune their resume, prepare for an interview and interpret a job's requirements and possible fit. He provides coaching, insights on working in a corporate environment and serves as a sounding board.
 
Peter's mentoring efforts have paid off: one of his protégés, Marc Gauval, joined Citi Private Bank in April as an Investment Specialist. "I'm really delighted that he is being hired; he will be a great addition to the Private Bank", said Peter.
 
ACP now has more than 50 participating institutions. More than 3000 veterans have completed the program to date; 2000 more are now in progress. As of January 2014, Citi has 47 mentorships currently and other Citi mentors are in the process of being paired with protégés.
 
"This is a great opportunity to give back to those who have served our country" says Peter. Mentors and protégés commit to work together for a year and have at least 12 hourly sessions.
 
For more information about ACP or if you are interested in becoming a mentor, you can sign up on the ACP website.
 

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