Gulru is Europe Head of Transaction Banking at Barclays. She is an accomplished banking executive with a wealth of experience in driving innovation, developing strategies, business management, and building lasting partnerships in the institutional banking sector.
Prior to Barclays, she spent a prominent 20-year career, where she served in various roles and led several transformational initiatives. In her latest role at Citi, Gulru led franchise growth and innovation agenda of the institutional banking franchise, focusing on new business models and partnerships. She also served as the Head of Innovation for Citi’s transaction banking business, where she played a pivotal role in defining and executing the global innovation strategy by leveraging emerging technologies. Her leadership in this role led to the development of digital cash management solutions for start-ups, central bank digital currency pilots, payment outlier detection, and the implementation of distributed ledger technology in trade finance. Before that, Gulru led Citi’s transaction banking for Turkey and five hub-managed countries, where she effectively managed and grew the business. With her vast experience in finance, business management, risk and controls, and audit, she has consistently demonstrated a deep understanding of the complexities of the banking industry.