The Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has named Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, accomplished financial services executive, board director, advisor, author and executive mentor, as Executive-in-Residence during its Centennial year. Her appointment continues the Barton School’s commitment to connecting students with accomplished leaders whose careers offer real-world lessons in leadership, transformation and navigating change.
Throughout her residency, Macieira-Kaufmann will engage with students, faculty, alumni and business leaders through classroom discussions, mentoring opportunities, executive meetings and a public fireside chat focused on the realities of leadership.
Macieira-Kaufmann brings more than two decades of senior leadership experience at Citigroup and Wells Fargo. During more than 11 years with Citigroup, she held CEO, president and managing director positions and ultimately served as Head of Citigroup’s International Personal Bank, leading a business serving the offshore wealth needs of multinational clients across more than 100 countries.
Before joining Citi, Macieira-Kaufmann spent 13 years at Wells Fargo, where she held several senior leadership positions, including Head of Wells Fargo Insurance Services, before ultimately serving as Head of Small Business. Throughout her corporate career, she led business turnarounds, scaled new ventures and expanded operations globally while gaining experience across sales and marketing, risk management, international business operations and the digitization of the consumer experience.
“Rebecca has led at the highest levels of global business, but what makes her experience especially valuable for our students is the breadth of the journey behind those accomplishments,” said Dr. Larisa Genin, dean of the Barton School of Business. “She has transformed organizations, navigated uncertainty, made difficult decisions and developed leaders along the way. As we celebrate our Centennial and look toward our next century, these are exactly the kinds of leaders and experiences we want to bring directly to our students.”
Today, Macieira-Kaufmann is a founding member of RMK Group, LLC, where she advises CEOs of startups through various stages of growth. She also serves as an executive mentor with The ExCo Group, working with C-suite executives, succession candidates and other senior leaders.
Her experience extends into corporate governance through service on public and private company boards. Macieira-Kaufmann currently serves on the boards of Securitize (NYSE: SECZ) and Fifth Era Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: FERA). Her previous board roles include serving as a director of Everest Consolidator (NYSE: MNTN), Blockchain Coinvestors Acquisition Corporation I (Nasdaq: BCSA), Revolut USA and Flutterwave, and as chair of the board of Banamex USA/Servicing Inc., a Citigroup subsidiary.
Macieira-Kaufmann is also the co-author of FitCEO: Be the Leader of Your Life, which explores how leaders can perform at a high level while building sustainable habits across their professional and personal lives. Her approach to leadership emphasizes adaptability through what she and her co-author call “immediate and imperfect action.”
“I’ve learned that leadership is not about having every answer before you move forward,” said Macieira-Kaufmann. “It is about being willing to act, learn, reset and continue growing. I’m looking forward to sharing some of those lessons with Barton students, but I’m equally excited to hear their questions and perspectives. They are preparing to lead in a world that will continue to change, and learning how to navigate that change is incredibly important.”
Macieira-Kaufmann has been recognized throughout her career for her leadership and contributions to business. She was named an Influential Woman in Bay Area Business by the San Francisco Business Times for 12 years and received the Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco’s Financial Woman of the Year award and a Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Award.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Semiotics from Brown University, was a post-graduate Fulbright Scholar at the University of Helsinki and received her MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Macieira-Kaufmann’s residency comes during the Barton School’s Centennial celebration, which has brought distinguished executives, entrepreneurs, alumni and business leaders to Wichita State while creating new opportunities for students to learn directly from their experiences.
Her residency will culminate in one of the Barton School’s final major student-facing engagements of the Centennial year. On November 18, Macieira-Kaufmann will participate in the fireside chat “The FIT CEO: Be the Leader of Your Life” in the Fidelity Bank Ballroom at Woolsey Hall. The conversation will explore the intersection of leadership, personal well-being and professional success, drawing on her executive experience and insights from her book.
“Our Centennial is a celebration of an extraordinary legacy, but the greatest way we can honor that legacy is by creating transformative opportunities for the students who will define our future,” Genin said. “Rebecca’s residency represents that commitment. We want our students learning from people who have led, built, changed course, overcome challenges and continued to grow. Those connections are how we build momentum for the Barton School’s next century.”
Additional information about Macieira-Kaufmann’s residency and the November 18 fireside chat will be announced separately.