When Monica Malik was 13, she rang up her first customer at a McDonald’s in Pittsburgh and was immediately confused.
“What kind of pop do you have?” a teenage girl asked, her friends giggling beside her.
“We don’t have pop,” Malik replied, puzzled. “But we do have Coke, Sprite, Dr Pepper … .”
The girl stared blankly, and Malik, fresh from New Jersey where it was called “soda,” suddenly realized she wasn’t just learning a new job. She was learning a new language, a new city and a new culture.
Three decades later, that moment — half linguistic mix-up, half cultural introduction — still makes her laugh, but it also marks the beginning of her quiet immersion into Pittsburgh, a city she would come to help shape in unexpected ways. It would foreshadow the decades Malik would spend translating between worlds: second-generation immigrant and American, corporate and grassroots, strategy and soul.
As vice president of public affairs and market manager for Citizens Bank, a role she has held since February 2023, Malik leads corporate giving, community engagement and strategic branding across Western Pennsylvania and upstate New York. She determines where millions of dollars flow and how community investments can translate into real, lasting impact.
But her journey to that seat began much earlier, at the back office desk of her father’s first McDonald’s franchise.
From back-end to boardroom
Born in Fort Monmouth, N.J., Malik spent her early childhood in Edison, a bustling suburb with a strong South Asian presence.
Her father, Iftikhar Malik, an immigrant from Pakistan, had arrived in the U.S. in the mid-1970s, one of 10 siblings. He worked relentlessly and eventually bought a McDonald’s restaurant in Pittsburgh when Monica was around 12. The family moved to Western Pennsylvania, and the pace of Monica’s life changed overnight.
“My dad bought a second restaurant soon after, and that’s when he said, ‘OK, you’ve got to help now,’” she says. At just 13, she began managing administrative work: payroll, bills, inventory tracking, while also manning the registers.
By college, she was running back-office operations for seven McDonald’s restaurants, all while attending the University of Pittsburgh full time. “I didn’t have a road map. I was the first in my family to go to college in America. I didn’t even know what questions to ask,” Malik says.
Originally passionate about information sciences and tech, she shifted her major to economics with minors in information sciences and Spanish, a pragmatic decision driven by workload and timing. “I just needed to graduate,” she says. “And at that point, I was managing multiple payrolls and restaurant operations while studying full time.”
It was in those formative years while balancing profit and loss statements (P&Ls) with group projects, running staff meetings in the morning and taking exams in the afternoon, that she discovered her people-first approach to leadership: Meet people where they are, listen before acting and never lose sight of the human behind the job title.
Making space to lead
The move from the chaos of restaurant management to the structure of large institutions came with its own learning curve.
“One of my biggest challenges was losing that sense of ownership,” Malik says. “But it taught me the power of influence over authority.”
In 2022 she took on the role of senior program manager for social determinants of health at Highmark Health, where she worked on health access initiatives in underserved neighborhoods. One of her proudest achievements was repurposing a closed hospital kitchen into a community culinary incubator.
“Now that kitchen is bustling. New entrepreneurs are launching food trucks, growing catering businesses, even getting distribution in local grocery stores. It’s a ripple effect of economic growth, and it started with an abandoned kitchen,” Malik says.
Beyond the checkbook
Malik’s role at Citizens Bank is both tactical and relational. She manages market activations and brand presence across her territories while overseeing corporate giving programs focused on financial empowerment and workforce development.
“It’s not just about writing checks. I’m always asking: Is this catalytic? Is it moving the needle?”
She points to Citizens’ partnership with The Warhol Academy, a creative workforce fellowship launched in June 2023. The bank has helped more than 50 students access state-accredited training in project management, photography and videography, with many graduates now creating media for Citizens’ national campaigns.
“That’s impact,” she says. “These are young people who now have credentials, stipends and opportunities — and who are building sustainable careers in creative industries.”
Malik also thinks about legacy in smaller, quieter ways. Like the time she mentored a young woman through a career crossroads. “I helped her refine her resume, prepare for interviews and introduced her to a few people,” she recalls. “A few months later, she landed her dream job. It reminded me that we don’t just build programs, we build people.”
Culture is a constant
Leading with intention is something Malik does at home too. A mother of three, she is deeply committed to preserving the cultural values that shaped her own childhood. Her community is multigenerational, with her parents living just 10 minutes away. Her children are growing up surrounded by traditions like fasting during Ramadan and praying together.
“I grew up with my grandparents in the house, and now my kids are growing up with theirs. That intergenerational closeness is something I treasure,” she says.
She participates in her children’s school diversity days, bringing in traditional clothing, family photos and personal stories. “I want kids to see more than just the dominant narrative,” she says. “I want them to see who we are and where we come from.”
In spaces where she is often the only woman of color, she does not downplay her identity.
“I’m unapologetically myself,” she says. “Whether it’s the boardroom or my kid’s classroom, I don’t hide who I am. And people are often curious. They want to understand.”
Equity at the center
While Malik is energized by Pittsburgh’s growing profile as a tech and health care innovation hub, particularly with the federal Innovation Hub designation, she remains cautious. The city’s momentum, she believes, must be matched by a commitment to equity.
“What keeps me up at night is equity,” she says. “Are communities of color being included? Are small businesses getting access? Are we building a future for everyone — or just a few?”
Her commitment to inclusion is reflected in her board work, which includes Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Uptown Partners, The Andy Warhol Museum, and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. Across these organizations, she advocates for community voice, representation and accountability.
At one Warhol Museum advisory board meeting last year, she recalls someone saying, “We’re not just training workers—we’re investing in families.” That line, she says, reframed everything for her.
Finding stillness
Looking ahead, Malik is focused less on recognition and more on outcomes. “Five years from now, I want to know that I helped make Pittsburgh more inclusive, more opportunity driven,” she says. “Whether it’s more women of color in leadership, stronger investments in overlooked communities or programs that thrive long after I’ve moved on.”
To the next generation, especially young women of color, she offers this advice. “When you get a seat at the table, don’t just sit there quietly, bring others with you.”
When she needs to recharge, Malik finds comfort in quiet corners of the city that feel like her own.
“The North Shore is my spot,” she says. “I go there to reflect. Watching the river move helps me slow down.”
And if she’s lucky, there’s a salon appointment on the calendar too. “I don’t do much in the name of self-care, but when I get my hair done, I get to zone out, laugh a little and leave feeling like I can take on the world again.”
It’s those small moments of stillness, she says, that fuel the bigger work.
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