At Citi Ventures, our mission is to help people, businesses, and communities thrive in a world of continuous change. Through our newsletter, we highlight accelerating trends and dissect how they will affect our employees, our business, and our clients. We have always held that the most important trends are not just driven by technological change, but also by behavioral and societal changes.
2020 is the perfect storm at the intersection of those three elements, and, as a result, may be the most consequential year of our lifetimes. The global pandemic has ripped through our lives, reminding us of our own fragility and spotlighting interconnected issues such as healthcare, economic inequality, and systemic racism. It is incumbent on all of us to help create new solutions for the challenges that lie ahead.
If you find some time to read over the next few months, I hope you will consider one of our recommended books below. I think you will find the selections as diverse and unique as our team. And I hope you will glean some ideas that help you create new solutions for the challenges we face. I would also love to hear what you are reading and add a few more items to my (never-ending) personal reading list.
HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST
by Ibram X. Kendi
When we look back on 2020, I hope that we will remember it as the year when we collectively began to address the structural inequities that have created unequal and unjust societies for so many people around the world. In this book, Kendi focuses on the harmful policies that have helped foster racism and invites readers to think about what an antiracist society might look like. Using data, history, and morality, he provides us with a guide for how we can all do better.
In short, it is not enough for us to be passive allies. We must act now.
Vanessa Colella
Vanessa Colella
Chief Innovation Officer, Citi, Head of Citi Ventures & Citi Productivity
FINTECH INSIDER (PODCAST)
by 11:FS
In today’s fast-paced world, it’s often easier for me to listen and learn while on the go. Fintech Insider is one of my weekly go-tos, as it features news analysis and in-depth interviews with the people I want to hear from in this constantly evolving space. The podcast stays ahead of the trends that I am watching and delivers insightful commentary on some of the toughest challenges that banks face today.
Alex Sion
Emily joined Citi Ventures in 2025 as a member of the investing team in London. She is responsible for sourcing, analyzing and executing venture investments in early-stage fintech startups.
Prior to joining Citi Ventures, Emily made venture investments in fintech startups across Europe as part of the Markets Strategic Investments team, which sources and executes venture investments that drive innovation and progress across Citi’s Markets franchise.
Emily received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and her master’s degree from the Nova School of Business and Economics. She is fluent in English and Portuguese. Outside of work, Emily enjoys traveling (the sunnier the better), watching (European) football and spoiling her beloved Corgi, Pingola.
THE MAN WHO SOLVED THE MARKET: HOW JIM SIMONS LAUNCHED THE QUANT REVOLUTION
by Gregory Zuckerman
This story revolves around Jim Simons, a mathematician and former code-breaker for the U.S. government who founded Renaissance Technologies and helped to pioneer quantitative investing. He proved that relying on computer programs instead of human judgment can be just as effective in making trading decisions, as demonstrated by his average 39% gains over three decades. In this portrait, you get a behind-the-scenes look at a normally very private person and a deeper understanding of the forces that shaped his life and way of thinking.
Arvind Purushotham
Arvind Purushotham is the Global Head of Citi Ventures. He leads the team’s efforts to catalyze innovation and accelerate growth across Citi by bringing the outside in, convening stakeholders, helping build new capabilities, and delivering thought leadership throughout both the bank and the finance and tech ecosystems.
Arvind oversees all of Citi Ventures’ investing activities and partners with both Citi colleagues and leading startups to bring cutting-edge technologies and capabilities to Citi’s businesses and functions. In addition, he advises the Citi Impact Fund, which invests in "double bottom line" U.S.-based private sector companies that are helping address some of society's most pressing challenges.
Prior to Citi, Arvind spent nearly a decade as a Managing Director at Menlo Ventures, where he was an investor and Board member at companies including Kazeon Systems, Cavium Networks, Solidcore, nCircle Network Security, Intelligent Results, and Vhayu Technologies. Previously, Arvind was a design engineer and a Program Manager at Intel Corporation.
Arvind obtained his BSEE from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, an MSEE from Case Western Reserve University, and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School. He enjoys running, photography, and reading in his spare time. Arvind is passionate about golf—a passion, sadly, that his skill level does not match. He lives in Palo Alto, CA with his wife, two sons, and their black lab Rocky.
THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS: THE EPIC STORY OF AMERICA'S GREAT MIGRATION
by Isabel Wilkerson
In this poignant book, author Isabel Wilkerson takes a deep look at one of America’s lesser-known stories: the half-century-long migration of Black Americans from the South to northern cities looking for greater economic opportunity. While it is now a few years old, the book feels timely as it highlights many of the lingering effects of the systemic racism and classism that have plagued the U.S. for far too long. Often, the first step towards progress is understanding and acknowledging the past.(opens in new window)
Lisa Davis
LEADERSHIP: IN TURBULENT TIMES
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
2020 has been an unprecedented year. While many of us are focused on the future and how our world is changing, there is much we can learn from past leaders as well. In this book, Doris Kearns Goodwin explores the leadership qualities of four U.S. presidents—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson—and how they masterfully navigated the financial, social, and political issues of their generations. She shares how each leader persevered despite numerous setbacks, highlighting their morality and resiliency. This is a fantastic read for anyone grappling with how to forge ahead through a crisis.
Steve Lipponer
TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTIONS AND FINANCIAL CAPITAL: THE DYNAMICS OF BUBBLES AND GOLDEN AGES
by Carlota Perez
In Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital Carlota Perez introduces a repeatable pattern for understanding how innovation unfolds and spreads across an economy and society. Investors and inventors use the “Perez Framework” to identify the turning point when an innovation moves from the early “installation” phase of technology adoption to widespread deployment across the economy and society. The framework is particularly compelling today, as we stand at the potential turning point for technologies that can enable a more sustainable economy and society. Everything by Carlota is worth reading and practicing, and it all starts here.
Valla Vakili
