For Elif Zapparoli, the pandemic-era shift from in-person to remote work is similar to the trend she has seen in the financial services industry over the last 20 years.As a managing director and co-head of Global Capital Markets for BofA Securities, Zapparoli has led as the industry shifted "from an in-person experience to contactless and mobile transactions." This move to a "distributed and disintermediated environment," she said, has opened up opportunities for exploring new ways to deliver trust and add value to clients.
Known as an out-of-the-box thinker, Zapparoli oversees some 850 bankers in five key businesses: equity capital markets, rates and currency solutions, investment-grade markets, leveraged finance, and debt advisory.
With the global economy in a state of transition in 2021, Zapparoli continued to guide her business through challenging conditions, and led her division to one of the best years on record. By going beyond traditional banking leadership approaches, her efforts often result in industry-defining capital market deals and expert banking.
She's been focused on anticipating the future of capital markets with digital innovation, and making her business a leading architect of that future. As part of that goal, she pushes to use AI, machine learning, robotics and automation to enhance her division's ability to diagnose problems, analyze data, make decisions and deliver faster services at lower costs.
Recently, Zapparoli has turned her attention to fintech, particularly in connection with evolving block chain technology and crypto currency assets. She leverages her expertise and extensive networks to drive conversations on the importance of fintech as a critical corporate strategy at the firm's senior leadership and Board of Directors level,as well as with clients. "My philosophy is that businesses must truly own the technology to enable innovation," she said.
Zapparoli is also a strong advocate for women at Bank of America. She promotes a strategy of "reaching back and pulling up" to help women move into strategic roles on corporate leadership teams and boards. She also personally mentors many women around the globe as a career advisor for employees at all levels. As part of those efforts, Zapparoli is deeply involved with the bank's Women's Leadership Council, which offers female employees the chance to network and to interact with senior leaders and to advance their careers. Zapparoli also mentors "rising talent" junior bankers—particularly women—and participates in activities to attract female talent to the firm through internships and recruiting events.
Before joining BofA Securities, Zapparoli was chairman of EFG Istanbul Securities, a company that she founded. In addition, Zapparoli was a member of the board of Eurobank Tekfen and a managing director at Iktisat Yatirim. She has also held multiple positions at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Outside of work Zapparoli is driven by a personal belief that learning and education are powerful influencers for improving our global society and helping to develop future world leaders. She participates in a variety of supporting initiatives. She currently is a member of the Global Advisory Council of Harvard University, a member of the Advisory Council at Harvard Business School Research Center, and a trustee for Robert College and Education Volunteers Foundation of Turkey.
As a member of the Harvard Business School Research Center since 2014, Zapparoli has been able to influence the educational content taught to students in Harvard programs throughout various regions including Turkey, and most recently across Asia Pacific. Because Harvard strives to be internationally recognized with resource centers around the world, Zapparoli's international business and cross-cultural experience, having lived on three different continents, is a valuable match for the university's advisor and board member roles.
Through her involvement with the Harvard Business School Research Center, Zapparoli has shared her financial industry knowledge and insight with faculty, students and other stakeholders through her written case studies, presentations and Advisory Council discussions.
A native of Turkey, Zapparoli first visited the United States to attend Brown University in 1985 and later earned a master's in business administration from Harvard. She joined Bank of America in 2010 as a country executive of Turkey, and led coverage of Central-Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa investment banking and global sovereign wealth funds. After working in Istanbul and Dubai, she moved to Hong Kong in 2016 as co-head of Asia Pacific global corporate and investment banking. Currently based in New York, she has worked in her current role since 2018.
