Abigail Johnson

Johnson wasn't born into rags. Far from it. She grew up in Boston, the granddaughter of Fidelity Investments' founder. But wealth doesn't guarantee success. Especially not in the cutthroat world of finance.

Abigail Johnson's early life was comfortable, but not extravagant. She attended private school and excelled academically. But it was her work ethic that set her apart. Even as a teenager, she spent summers working in Fidelity's customer service department.

"I was responsible for filling out the forms to correctly put in order the transactions that they were requesting," Johnson recalls. "It was a pretty basic job. But it gave me an appreciation of what it was like to be responsible for really important things in people's lives."

This early exposure sparked something in Johnson. She saw an opportunity to make a real impact in people's financial lives. After college and a brief stint at Booz Allen Hamilton, she joined Fidelity full-time in 1988 as an equity analyst.

The path wasn't easy. Being the founder's granddaughter came with expectations. Scrutiny. Pressure. Johnson had to prove herself at every turn. She worked long hours, analyzing companies and managing portfolios. Her colleagues respected her, but some outsiders viewed her rise with skepticism.

Johnson faced her biggest challenge in 2012 when she became president of Fidelity Financial Services. The role required a shift in leadership style.

"I had many high-powered sales and marketing professionals who reported to me," she says. "But I also had thousands of call center representatives reporting to me. I had to learn to communicate to very different types of groups of managers with different orientations, different priorities."

She adapted. Learned. Grew. In 2014, Johnson became CEO of Fidelity. Two years later, she added the title of chairman. Under her leadership, Fidelity has thrived. The company now manages $4.5 trillion in assets and serves over 40 million individual investors.

But Johnson isn't content to rest on her laurels. She's pushed Fidelity into new territories, like cryptocurrency trading. In 2018, she made the bold decision to offer commission-free trading for stocks and ETFs. It shook up the industry.

"No matter how senior you get in an organization, no matter how well you're perceived to be doing, your job is never done," Johnson insists. "Every day you get up and the world is changing, your customers are expecting more from you. Your competitors are putting pressure on you by doing more and trying to beat you here and beat you there."

Johnson's success goes beyond numbers. She's become a role model for women in finance. In an industry still dominated by men, she's shown what's possible through hard work and determination.

Her advice to aspiring leaders? Trust your instincts.

"Lots of people will give you advice," she says. "At the end of the day, you know yourself best."

Lessons

Lesson 1: Embrace your legacy, but don't be defined by it. You're the granddaughter of Fidelity's founder. That's a fact. But it doesn't determine your success. Johnson didn't rest on her family name. She worked summers in customer service, then as an analyst. She climbed the ranks. "I was responsible for filling out the forms to correctly put in order the transactions that they were requesting," Johnson recalls of her early days. "It was a pretty basic job. But it gave me an appreciation of what it was like to be responsible for really important things in people's lives." Your background is just a starting point. What you do with it matters more.

Lesson 2: Keep pushing, even when you're on top. Fidelity manages $4.5 trillion in assets. It's a giant. But Johnson doesn't let that make her complacent. "No matter how senior you get in an organization, no matter how well you're perceived to be doing, your job is never done," she says. Every day, she looks for new ways to improve. New technologies to adopt. New markets to enter. When you're big, it's easy to get lazy. Don't.

Lesson 3: Focus on the next generation of customers. Fidelity has been aggressively courting younger investors. They've simplified their apps. They've created educational content for beginners. In the second quarter of 2023, investors between 18 and 35 accounted for 43% of new retail accounts. Think long-term about your customer base. Who will they be in 10 years?

Lesson 4: Maintain a low profile, but a strong presence. Johnson rarely gives interviews. She's not a celebrity CEO. But her impact is undeniable. She lets Fidelity's performance speak for itself. In a world of personal branding and Twitter wars, there's power in quiet competence. You don't need to be loud to be heard. Just be good.

Lesson 5: Build a culture of internal mobility. Johnson encourages employees to try different roles within Fidelity. It keeps people engaged. It cross-pollinates ideas. It builds a more versatile workforce. Your best talent might already be in your company. Just in the wrong role.

Abigail Johnson Quotes

On goal-setting: "I demand pretty aggressive goal setting and a commitment to measured progress towards those goals because I don't like surprises."

On innovation: "Don't assume that the answers are out there in the form of somebody else already doing something. Sometimes they are. But you have to think beyond that."

On customer focus: "Every day you get up and the world is changing, your customers are expecting more from you."

On competition: "Your competitors are putting pressure on you by doing more and trying to beat you here and beat you there."

On persistence: "Every day you have to get up with new energy and new ideas to contribute to pushing the organization forward."

On integrity: "There can be no friendship without confidence, and no confidence without integrity."

On leadership style: "There's a time that may come in an organization where leading by influence is not enough."

On ownership: "Do every job you're in like you're going to do it for the rest of your life, and demonstrate that ownership of it."

Speeches and Interviews

• Abigail Johnson's Christendom College Major Speaker Address
• Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson Shares Her Advice

Further Readings

• Fidelity Investments official website
• Fidelity Investments Newsroom
• Fidelity International (sister company) website