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Darryl Hendricks had lined up his first teaching job, but it wouldn't begin until six months after college graduation. In the interim, he needed work. He applied for a summer internship, funded by Citibank, at a New York City YMCA working with troubled teens and got the job.

"At the end of the summer, Citibank invited the interns to brief senior executives," Hendricks said. "I was very candid in my assessments. Tom Theobald, a future Citibank vice chairman, was an attendee. At the end of the meeting, he asked me if I was interested in joining the bank."

Hendricks had been having some misgivings about a teaching career, particularly since New York City had begun laying off teachers, he said.

"I told Tom I knew nothing about banking, except that I'd had horrible service at Citibank's 125th and Broadway branch," Hendricks said. The next month he started at the bank.

Today, Hendricks, 57, is president of Citibank Illinois, as well as central division manager, responsible for its 128 Texas banks.

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Q: You went to the prestigious public High School of Music & Art in New York. What attracted you there? Does having studied music influence your decision-making?

A: After the jazz great Erroll Garner played at my elementary school, I fell in love with jazz music. I started with the trumpet and added French horn.

Jazz allows me to be comfortable being creative, as well as comfortable living with ambiguity. Most people don't realize that with music, particularly classical music, a lot of competition is involved. As a result, I've been very comfortable competing.

The other experience that influences my decision-making is having been an all-city baseball and basketball player. With both music and sports, I learned to work with teams of very diverse people.

Q: You asked to switch into the corporate banking program but didn't have the requisite MBA. How did you compete?

A: To succeed, I realized I needed a general management background and could only get that in corporate banking. The division head agreed to give me a chance, but said I'd be competing with MBAs. It would be tough.

I read everything I could and paid considerable attention to our customers. I realized the MBAs weren't any smarter than I was. Also, I was open to taking more risks than they were.

I began to develop theories of how to do our businesses differently. I became a highly successful relationship manager.

Q: What's the toughest job you've had?

A: Citibank was going through a rough time in 1990, doing many layoffs. I didn't feel I had the ability to change the trajectory of our business.

My former boss, Dave Pottruck, moved to Schwab as president. He asked me to run the New York region, its lowest-performing region nationwide.

At my first branch managers' meeting, they were very wary of me. I was an outsider. I remained focused on achieving the goals.

We became the best-performing region. I don't think I ever got them to like me, but they did respect me. They recognized what we were doing made sense. (After seven years with Schwab, Hendricks returned to Citibank.)

Q: How do you work jobs in different locations?

A: I can't be in both places at once. I trust my teams. They're very experienced. I delegate. And conference calls help.

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Step by step

2008-present: Manager, Central division, Citibank, Dallas

2004-present: President, Citibank Illinois, Chicago

1999-2004: Regional operations manager, Citibank Illinois

1998-99: Director of loss prevention, Citibank, New York City

1994-98: Vice president, Charles Schwab and Co., San Francisco

1991-94: Regional vice president, Charles Schwab, New York metro region, New York City

1988-91: Area manager, Westchester, Citibank, Westchester, N.Y.

1987-88: Area manager, Long Island region, Citibank, Merrick, N.Y.

1986-87: Business director, Lower Manhattan region, Citibank, New York City

1986: Branch retail business director, Mid-Atlantic region, Washington

1982-86: Director of real estate financial-services group, Upper Manhattan region, Citibank, New York City

1972-82: Corporate lending officer, North American banking group, Citibank, New York City

1972: Management trainee, New York consumer loan and mortgage department, Citibank, New York City

1971: Trainee, New York banking division, Citibank, New York City

1971: Bachelor's degree, Long Island University, Brooklyn, N.Y.

1971: Summer intern, Citibank, New York City

1970-71: Part-time student teacher, St. Lawrence School, Brooklyn, N.Y.

1966-70: Summer public school assistant camp counselor, City of New York Public Schools, New York City