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Celine Dufétel
Listen to this articleCeline Dufétel
CFO and COO
T. Rowe Price Group
Celine Dufétel joined the Baltimore-based asset manager in 2017. She provides global leadership in a broad array of areas, from financial activities and investor relations to risk oversight, workplace services and enterprise change. She has overseen the firm’s pandemic response efforts.
A native of France, Dufétel spent part of her childhood in Bethesda, returning to Paris to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in applied mathematics and economics from École Polytechnique. She served as navigation officer in the French navy aboard an oil tanker while in college.
Dufétel returned to the United States in 2003 and received her master’s degree in finance from Princeton University. She began her professional career with McKinsey & Company in 2004.
What was the biggest lesson your organization learned from the COVID-19 pandemic?
From an operational standpoint, T. Rowe Price was able to function very well as the pandemic unfolded. Our investments in technology enabled us to quickly respond and reinforced the importance of being prepared, as we were well positioned to shift nearly our entire global workforce to remote work. The pandemic has reinforced what’s best in our people and our culture, reaffirmed the value of doing everything we could to provide great client service and help our clients make good decisions, and highlighted the importance of emphasizing empathy and helping our associates find a work-life balance.
How were you able to find time for yourself and your friends/family during the pandemic?
It was important for me and my family to keep some structure to the day. I made it a point to wrap up work by 5 p.m. and focus on my family in the evening before cleaning up loose ends from my day after the kids went to sleep. As a result, the past year has given me and my husband more quality family time.
