After starting as a summer intern at Barclays, Meghan Graper spent more than two decades steadily rising through the ranks to become global co-head—and, at the end of 2024, sole global head—of debt capital markets. Given the DCM group's standout results on her watch, her promotion was hardly a surprise.
Under her leadership, Barclays' DCM business grew revenues 8% year-over-year in 2024—following a record 2023—the largest year-over-year move for Barclays since before the pandemic. Her group's full-year 2024 revenue hit $554 million, and 2025 is on pace to exceed that mark. Through the first half of this year, revenue totaled $413 million. She has 20 direct reports, and 173 people on her team. (Graper is ranked based on the co-head role she held prior to her promotion in late 2024, as per American Banker's methodology requiring a woman to be in her position for at least one full year.)
According to Graper, grabbing market share and boosting revenue has depended on "listening to clients and really understanding their objectives and their challenges. I think 2024 was a year where volatility could very easily have led to paralysis or hesitation but by staying deeply connected with investors, and then anticipating windows of opportunity, we were able to give issuing clients the confidence to move forward decisively."
She succeeded by playing to Barclays' strengths as a global institution, such as staying currency agnostic, issuing in dollars, or euros or sterling—"whatever is the right solution for the client at any point in time." She is also leveraging innovative hybrid instruments so investors can tailor their risk exposure as they "buy down the capital stack" to riskier, higher-return junior positions.
Looking back over the past year, Graper is particularly proud of her decision to shift talented people into different regions or sectors. "I've seen some pretty incredible results moving people across lanes and allowing them to really flex different muscles, giving them a chance to operate in a different capacity. This not only strengthens the team and their careers, but I have had positive feedback from clients."
For those with her early in her career, Graper's ascent has been predictable. A former boss, Justin D'Ercole, founder, managing partner and CIO of ISO-mts Capital Management, said Graper's intense preparation means she is never surprised or put off balance.
He recalls a big pitch with senior members of the banking industry and product team at Barclays soon after he had promoted her to cover energy companies on the syndicate desk. "Managers asked me to provide cover and support. But I had watched Meghan for the past few days rip through every comp and statistic, looking for any edge for her client. I told the team they were in great shape with just Meghan, and she needed no cover. Sure enough, we won the business, and I received calls and emails from our senior team praising her preparation and performance. Meghan's reputation was born."
