Christina Mbagwu - Nominee for Talent Innovator Award

Christina Mbagwu is a Senior Campus Recruiting Partner at Fannie Mae. In her role, she is responsible for supporting the organization’s goal of hiring entry-level talent - with a strong focus on recruiting a diverse applicant pool and providing candidates with an exceptional experience. Prior to her role at Fannie Mae, Christina worked to enhance the “One Firm” campus recruiting and program management model at EY. She has hired more than 3,000 interns and entry-level employees throughout her career and has established two campus recruiting and internship programs from the ground up. Additionally, Christina has a passion for helping her community. In 2018, she launched Little Fish, Big Pond, a non-profit organization that helps high school students transition to college and eventually into a rewarding career. Christina finds purpose in supporting students in their transition to the workforce, doing everything she can to educate and equip them along the way.

Outside of work, Christina enjoys participating in Spartan races and spending time with her family.

Career Highlight

When Christina joined Fannie Mae nearly three years ago, she was tasked with expanding the company’s campus recruiting efforts into the Southwest region. She began by meeting with business executives to outline the overall strategy. Then, she completed an internal roadshow to gain a better understanding of the skills needed for the roles by shadowing current employees in similar positions. Having prior knowledge of the Southwest region, coupled with additional research, Christina knew exactly what schools would be best to contact and started planning for the season. She hosted stakeholder meetings with the selected schools, inviting career center staff and professors to better understand their recruiting processes and determine program options to be included in a custom, school-specific recruiting plan. In addition, Christina planned a variety of Fannie Mae-sponsored events, which included information sessions, tech talks, and community service projects. These initiatives provided an opportunity for Fannie Mae to establish and foster relationships with students, which led to a consistent pipeline of entry-level talent. The success of her efforts was made evident when all of the targeted positions were filled within two months of her start date. Three years later, Christina has expanded the recruiting efforts for the region by establishing relationships with more universities and developing early identification programs aimed at engaging freshman and sophomore students.