Raised by a single mother and his grandparents in Dayton, Ohio, Ray McGuire and his two brothers didn’t have much growing up. But they had family, faith, church, a loving home and a deep-seated belief that education was their ticket to anywhere.

With a lot of student loans and borrowed money, Ray went to Harvard, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. He then enrolled in a four-year JD/MBA program at Harvard University. After earning degrees in law and business at the same time, Ray went to New York for a job on Wall Street. Over the last 36 years, Ray has led businesses responsible for generating $20+ billion a year in revenue supporting public and private sector clients around the world. He recruited and built teams to do multi-billion-dollar deals, and he advised the CEOs of companies on how to help their businesses grow, thrive and create jobs. For the last 13 years, Ray was the head of global corporate and investment banking at Citigroup and the longest-tenured head of investment banking in the history of Wall Street. As a Citi Foundation Board member, Ray helped the firm improve the lives of people in low- income communities. He also recently helped write a groundbreaking report on the economic impact of systemic racism. Through mentoring, Ray has held the door open for many others including those who grew up like him. Ray gives back to the city by serving on the boards of the New York Presbyterian Hospital, the New York Public Library, the Whitney Museum and the Studio Museum in Harlem. He has also served on advisory boards for the Council of Urban Professionals, Sponsors for Educational Opportunities, Management Leadership for Tomorrow and others. Ray is married to Crystal McCrary McGuire. Together they are raising three children.