WASHINGTON – Howard University announced today that Mark A. L. Mason Sr. (BBA ’91), vice chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, will serve as the keynote orator at the 2024 Opening Convocation on Friday, September 13.

Mason was named chief financial officer (CFO) of Citi in February 2019. He is responsible for the financial management of the company and leads Citi’s Expense Management and Citi Ventures Initiatives. Prior to being named Citi CFO, Mason served as CFO of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group and was the executive responsible for Citi’s Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review submission process.

Mason joined Citi in 2001 and has held several senior operational, strategic, and financial executive positions, including chief executive officer of Citi Private Bank and Citi Holdings, and CFO and head of strategy and M&A for Citi’s Global Wealth Management Division. Prior to his Citi tenure, Mason was director of strategy and business development with Lucent Technologies. He also spent several years as a strategy consultant with Marakon Associates, working with Fortune 100 companies to develop strategies to maximize shareholder value. Mason also has investment banking experience with the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Mason has been a member of the Howard University Board of Trustees since 2012, and was named a vice chair on July 1, 2017. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from Howard University, graduating with honors in 1991, and also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. Moreover, Mason is currently a director for Microsoft, Inc., formerly holding the same position at Primerica, Inc. He resides in New Jersey with his wife and two young adult children.

“Trustee Mason represents the best traditions of Howard University,” said Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D. “Like many Howard graduates who are leaders at the highest levels of the world’s most impactful organizations, his commitment to excellence inspires managerial innovation throughout his company and industry. His experience and perspective are uniquely relevant to the challenges facing corporate America and our broader society today. Most importantly, he continues to embody truth and service, demonstrating through example how the nation’s most influential executives can use their platforms to uplift the communities in which they are engaged.”

Howard University’s 2024 Opening Convocation will be Friday, September 13, at 11:00 a.m. in Cramton Auditorium. To facilitate campuswide participation, classes will be suspended from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. No tickets will be required for students to gain access.

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