From Grokipedia
Full articleSusan L. Wagner is an American financial executive and co-founder of BlackRock, the multinational investment management firm that manages a record $13.46 trillion in assets under the latest quarter ended September 2025. She established the company in 1988 alongside Larry Fink and other colleagues initially within the Blackstone Group, at the age of 26. Wagner advanced through key operational roles, including head of corporate strategy and chief operating officer, before serving as vice chairman from 2006 to 2012, during which she coordinated strategic initiatives such as major mergers with entities like Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and PNC Financial Services. Her contributions included pioneering risk management technologies that underpinned BlackRock's growth into the preeminent global asset manager. Wagner holds a B.A. in English and Economics from Wellesley College (1982) and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (1984); she continues as a director on BlackRock's board and serves on the boards of Apple Inc. and other organizations.
In brief
Susan Wagner is one of the names on BlackRock’s original letterhead. While the public learned Larry Fink, she was building the plumbing that lets trillions move without drama.
Chief operating officer is an unromantic title for a historic firm. It is also the title that means the machine works. She helped invent that machine.
