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If and when Antonio Castañon ever winds down his thirty-four-year career at Citi, his legacy will span generations, easily. Throughout his tenure, he has made himself personally available to literally dozens of mentees. He can’t remember a single instance where someone sought out his mentorship and didn’t ultimately move on to bigger and better things.
“At some point, it became very apparent to me that the more responsibility you get in an organization, the more important it is to focus on people development,” says Castañon, who is the managing director and head of collections and credit and operations. “When you do that, the outcomes are terrific. The prize at this point in my career is seeing what those investments have delivered: so many wonderful people who have gone on to do so many wonderful things.”
Part of the reason Castañon has invested so much time in others is because he remembers the years of not seeing many Latinos in positions of leadership. After attaining that leadership position himself, the executive was determined to help mentor others along their career progression.
Citi has publicly committed to sourcing diverse applicants for roles, who are representative of the customers it serves.
Latinas, especially, are a demographic that Citi is intent on better communicating with, and Castañon says that communication is key. Castañon has sometimes seen candidates talk themselves out of applying to a job posting that they might very well be qualified for. But the executive director has seen light bulbs turn on above the heads of highly qualified applicants who just needed to understand that their experience translated into the kind of experience in a job posting. They just needed to give themselves a little more credit.
“That’s part of the reason we’ve invested so heavily in outreach,” Castañon says. “We know there are diamonds in the rough who just need a little preparation to grab that next big opportunity. We work with them to create development plans, prepare them for interviews, and teach them about the importance of networking and joining organizations that can help facilitate that networking.”
“The prize at this point in my career is seeing what those investments have delivered: so many wonderful people who have gone on to do so many wonderful things.”
Antonio Castañon
Perhaps most important is the scope of Citi’s outreach and efforts. Castañon calls it “360 Inclusion,” the understanding that celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month isn’t going to solve real and long-standing issues for minorities in leadership. That is why groups like Citi’s Hispanic/Latino Inclusion Network are so critical to the company’s mission, and why Castañon is so proud to have seen the group’s numbers balloon in a very short period.
In that time, half of the six individuals who Castañon helped start the group with have already moved on to other leadership opportunities at Citi, yet another point of pride for the executive director who is helping drive change in real time.
If Castañon sounds like more of a big brother than a boss, consider how the managing director has seen fit to spend his time outside the office. The executive spent thirteen years as an ambassador for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City before becoming a board member and chairman of the board. Castañon helped source current CEO and executive director Michael Lawrence eighteen years prior, and the Kansas City branch boasts nearly a half-dozen “Chapter of the Year” awards from its parent organization.
The executive has seen the same results with future executives as he has with the “Littles” in Big Brothers Big Sisters. Mentors help lift the blinders to illuminate what can be possible in life. If there is a second act for Castañon’s career, he admits he might consider mentoring full time. It’s his calling, regardless of his title.
With six grown kids and five grandkids, Castañon and his husband have a family to be proud of. But there are the dozens, if not hundreds, who have also thrived under his tutelage. If Antonio Castañon has found the time to help advance the next generation of Latino leaders, so can you.
