The Fulbright Association is pleased to announce the 2018 Lifetime Achievement awardee, Ms. Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, in recognition of her accomplishments in fostering intercultural relations between Mexico and the United States both within the business sector as well as within the community. The Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Award honors Fulbright alumni whose distinguished careers and civic and cultural contributions have sought to expand the boundaries of human wisdom, empathy, and perception. Recipients of the Award show exemplary commitments to creative leadership and liberal education. She was a Fulbright Scholar to Finland. The Association started the Lifetime Achievements Awards program in 2000.
“Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann is a leader in banking both in the United States and Mexico, and has affected people from all walks of life,” says Dr. Manfred Philipp, President of the Fulbright Association. “Her work has helped foster and maintain good relations between both our countries. For this, she fully deserves the Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Ms. Macieira-Kaufmann has been named an Influential Woman in Bay Area Business and a Forever Influential Woman by the San Francisco Business Times, and was additionally recognized as the 2010 Financial Woman of the Year by the Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco. In 2007, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women presented her with the Women Leading Change Award.
She works as the Head of Citibank’s International Personal Bank US, where she manages offshore wealth needs of multi-national clients, and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for BUSA Servicing Holdings, Inc. She worked previously as the President and CEO of Banamex USA, an affiliate of Citibanamex, one of the largest banks in Mexico. Her history within the banking world additionally extends to serving as President of Citibank’s retail banking business in California and Nevada, as Chair of Citi’s California Leadership Council, which oversaw the company’s engagement and support with philanthropic, educational, and other community-driven organizations. Prior to that, she was the Executive Vice President and Head of the Small Business Segment at Wells Fargo, and has also served as the Senior Engagement Manager at Retail Solutions Management Consultants in London.
Her record of community service is equally impressive. She is actively engaged with a range of business groups, including the Financial Women of San Francisco, the World Presidents’ Organization, and the 2020 Women on Boards campaign. She is also active in community organizations, and is currently a member of the San Francisco Symphony’s Board of Directors. She has also previously served on the Board of Directors for Jewish Vocational Service, Congregation Emanu-El San Francisco, the Jewish Community Federation, the California Chamber of Commerce, the Bay Area Council, and the Advisory Board of the Asia Society of Northern California. Additionally, she was a 2003-2005 Fellow for the Wexner Heritage Foundation. She frequently gives presentations at business schools and national organizations on leadership, team-building, and business transformation and culture.
Ms. Macieira-Kaufmann earned her Master of Business Administration at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Semiotics at Brown University, where she graduated cum laude, and went on to complete her Fulbright grant at the University of Helsinki.
“My Fulbright experience in Finland was profoundly enriching – academically and culturally,” says Ms. Macieira-Kaufmann, who has had a long history of volunteer service with the Fulbright Association, including serving on the National Board of Directors from 2005 to 2011. “I have long been interested in meaning and particularly how meaning is derived or constructed across different cultures. My passion for cross-border and cultural insights drives both my vocation and my avocations.”
The Fulbright Association will present Ms. Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Annual Conference Gala scheduled on November 2 at the San Pedro Art Museum (San Pedro Museo De Arte), in Puebla, Mexico. To learn more about the conference and how to register, visit https://fulbright.org/2018-conference/.
For information on becoming a Lifetime Achievement Award sponsor, please click here.
