| Susan Wagner | |
| Birth Name: | Susan Lynne Wagner |
| Birth Date: | 26 May 1961[1] |
| Birth Place: | Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Alma Mater: | Wellesley College (BA) University of Chicago (MBA) |
| Known For: | Co-founding BlackRock |
Susan Lynne Wagner (born 1961)[2] is an American financial executive. Wagner is one of the co-founders of BlackRock, an American multinational investment management corporation, where she was vice chairman and chief operating officer. BlackRock is the largest asset management firm in the world with $10.01 trillion in assets under management as of January 2024.[3]
In 2011, she was named to two lists of powerful women: "Most Powerful Women in New York 2011" and "50 Most Powerful Women in Business (2011)".[4] [5]
Wagner was born in 1961 in Chicago to a Jewish family.[6] She graduated in 1982 with honors from Wellesley College with a BA in English and Economics, and then earned an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago in 1984.[7]
After earning her MBA, Wagner worked as vice president of the mortgage finance group for Lehman Brothers.[8] In 1988, Wagner and Ralph Schlosstein left Lehman to join Blackstone Financial Group. Later, Blackstone Financial Group changed their name to BlackRock.
As one of the co-founders of BlackRock in 1988, Wagner was vice chairman and chief operating officer.[9] She orchestrated BlackRock's mergers and acquisitions, which included Quellos, Merrill Lynch Investment Management, and Barclays Global Investors. Prior to retiring from BlackRock in 2012,[10] Wagner expanded the company into Asia, the Middle East and Brazil.[11] Since retiring from BlackRock, she is on their board of directors, and a member of the board of trustees of the Hackley School.[12] In May 2014, Wagner was asked by Wellesley's class of 2014 to deliver the commencement address.[13]
In July 2014, Wagner was named to the board of Apple Inc., replacing long-time board member William Campbell.[14] Wagner was the second woman on the Apple eight-member board and the only director with a background in finance.[15] In 2014, she also was elected to the board of directors of Swiss Re.
In 2023, Wagner received the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Finance Pioneer Award[16] at the United Nations in recognition as a trailblazer and innovators in their field and who inspire all around them to use their lives to make a meaningful impact on the world.