Abigail Johnson is a successful female investor. She is the CEO and President of Fidelity Investments (one of the biggest mutual fund companies in the U.S.). Her family founded Fidelity, and Abigail is the third generation to lead it. She became the CEO in 2014 and was named chairman in 2016.

As of June 2024, Abigail P. Johnson’s wealth is estimated to be around USD 35.6 billion. This makes her one of the wealthiest women globally. In 2016, Forbes named her as the richest person in one of the 50 largest cities in the U.S. Moreover, by 2023, she ranked eighth on their "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" list. Mrs. Johnson has also held the title of the richest person in Massachusetts since at least 2015.

Under Abigail’s leadership, Fidelity has substantially expanded. In 2023, the company earned a revenue of USD 28.2 billion with an employee headcount of 74,000. In this article, let’s study the life story of Abigail P. Johnson and check out some key things we can learn from her.

• Abigail Johnson is the CEO of Fidelity Investments, with an estimated net worth of around USD 35.6 billion.
• During her tenure, she always believed in her own judgement and gave attention to detail.
• In a notable move, she introduced cryptocurrency trading at Fidelity, which rapidly enhanced the company’s customer base.

Mrs. Johnson grew up in Boston as the eldest of three children. She always focused on her studies and earned a B.A. in Art (History). After graduating, she moved to New York and worked as a Research Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton. This experience and meeting Harvard Business School (HBS) graduates inspired her to pursue an MBA from HBS. After earning her MBA, she joined Fidelity.

Although her family founded Fidelity, Mrs. Abigail Johnson worked hard to rise through the ranks. She began as an equity analyst and spent around five years in research before moving into fund management. In one of the most notable moves, she introduced cryptocurrency as a trading platform at Fidelity. This allowed investors to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum.

For a greater understanding, let’s study some key events of her life in a chronological sequence:

• 1961: Born in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1984: Graduated with a B.A. in Art (History).
• 1985: Began career as a Research Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton.
• 1988: Completed an MBA from Harvard Business School and joined Fidelity as an Equity Analyst.
• 1994: Promoted to Associate Director at Fidelity.
• 1998: Became Senior Vice President (SVP) at Fidelity Investments.
• 2001: Became President of Fidelity Asset Management.
• 2007: Appointed President of Fidelity Personal and Workplace Investing.
• 2012: Became President of Fidelity Financial Services.
• 2013: Took over as President of Fidelity Management and Research (FMR).
• 2014: Became CEO of FMR.
• 2016: Named Chairman of FMR.
• 2018: Fidelity was serving 27 million individual customers.

Over time, Abigail Johnson grew as a leader and eventually expanded Fidelity through her innovative solutions and vision. We can learn several things from her career, like trusting oneself, mastering communication, and handling challenges head-on. Let’s understand in detail:

• Trust your instincts
  Johnson encourages individuals to trust their own judgment. While advice from others can be helpful, she believes no one knows you better than yourself. She successfully applied this wisdom in her personal and professional life. In this way, she could even make tough decisions by relying on her instincts.
• Improve your communication skills
  As Johnson transitioned into a larger leadership role, she realised the importance of clear communication. By working on her skills, she successfully led different groups, from sales professionals to call centre representatives. This challenge also helped her grow as a leader.
• Give attention to detail
  In her early career, Abigail Johnson worked with customer orders. Here she learned the importance of being precise and accurate, as small mistakes could impact people's financial lives. Later on, this attention to detail significantly improved her leadership style. She started having high standards in everything she did.
• Don’t get discouraged by failures
  During her tenure, Johnson faced several business challenges, such as losing key clients. However, she never got disheartened. Instead, she stepped up and took all the required steps to guide her team back on track. Also, failures taught her that sometimes leading by influence isn’t enough and decisive actions are necessary.