- Citigroup has announced changes to its technology and services sectors.
- CEO Jane Fraser is on a mission to simplify the bank’s structure and focus on profitable business lines.
- Two top executives are leaving the bank amid reshuffles.
Sprawling Citigroup is no stranger to restructuring since its CEO Jane Fraser took over the global bank in 2021.
Now, the firm has announced internal changes in two divisions key to its transformation: one in the technology unit that supports mass banking and another in its services business. The latter helps clients manage and move money globally and is what Fraser has called the bank’s “crown jewel”.
Fraser inherited a bank saddled with regulatory problems and outdated technology that lagged behind other household name peers. Since then, it has divested businesses, announced layoffs in several thousand roles and brought in several senior executives to help revive areas such as technology, wealth and investment banking.
“You can see the very tangible progress we’re making in executing the strategy we laid out at our Investor Day three years ago,” Fraser said on a call with analysts last week. “We have materially simplified our firm since then.”
Citi’s Tim Ryan, head of technology, and Shahmir Khaliq, head of services, sent memos to employees Monday announcing the changes, which were seen by Business Insider. Here are the changes introduced by each executive and why.
Reorganization of technology
Ryan is rethinking his leadership team to help the bank keep up with the rapid pace of technological change and “position Citi as a premier destination for engineering talent,” he said in a memo to the bank’s technology and business enablement employees. the moon.
The leadership changes will also result in moves across teams to better align with the firm’s mission, which Ryan said will be communicated soon.
Tim Ryan joined Citi as its new head of technology in mid-2024. Courtesy of Citi
“I know the organization has been through a lot over the last 18 months,” Ryan said. “I need you to know that I’m making these changes to help secure Citi’s future, and in doing so, to create opportunities. That’s the big picture I’m asking us to keep at the forefront of of our minds.”
Ryan said he had considered the technology team’s weaknesses and strengths since joining from the top US job at accountancy firm PwC last June.
The leadership changes also follow news last Thursday that Shadman Zafar, the bank’s co-chief information officer, would be leaving the bank, which was previously reported by Barron’s.
Jonathan Lofthouse is now the sole chief information officer, according to the memo. His team will be responsible for all business technology and will be “relentlessly focused” on accelerating the modernization and simplification of the bank’s technology stack.
Other lineup changes include:
- Al Tarasiuk, chief information security officer, will become head of core services, taking over oversight of technology infrastructure in addition to security.
- Julien Courbe is joining Citi from PwC as head of functions and change of enterprise. His team will be responsible for finance functions, risk and technology.
- David Griffiths has been appointed chief technology officer, head of emerging technology and strategic partnerships. He will work across the organization to deliver and integrate the firm’s technology tools. “He will leverage the unparalleled access we have to the best technology in the world to ensure Citi is future-proof,” Ryan said. Griffiths was previously head of engineering and architecture,
- Ann Barron-DiCamillo will take on a newly created role as head of technology optimization and risk reduction. She will focus on “optimizing” Citi’s software to make it consistent and streamlined across the business. She was previously global head of cyber operations.
Mixing of services
Last summer, Citi devoted an entire investor day to talking about one of its oldest businesses: Citi Services.
The business is being restructured and a 35-year Citi veteran and key executive within the unit is leaving. Citi Services, one of the bank’s 5 core business lines, is the core of Fraser’s turnaround strategy, as it is seen as a unique business that can be leveraged for further revenue growth.
Okan Pekin, global head of securities services, has decided to leave the bank and pursue new opportunities, according to a memo to employees from Khaliq. Okan will remain at Citi until the end of March as a member of the services management team.
Okan Beijing speaking at the Citi Services Investor Day in June 2024. Citi
Its unit, which works with investment managers and companies that issue debt and equity securities, has been rebranded as Investor Services and will include custody, fund services and execution services, Khaliq said in a separate memo. . The firm is looking for a new head of investor services.
Beijing has led Citi’s asset manager services since 2013. Under his leadership, he restructured the business, won several client mandates and built Citi’s ETF business.
He joined the firm in 1989. During his time at Citi, he also led sales in Citi’s markets division for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and helped Citi become a leader in the foreign exchange business.
Citi Services’ business lines include payments, liquidity management services, trading and working capital solutions and issuer services.
Artie Ambrose, Citi’s current chief operating officer for treasury and trading solutions, will take on an expanded role as head of Services operations.
Khaliq said the division’s structure “will continue to evolve” and the bank will share more after appointing a replacement for Beijing.
“I am confident that these changes will drive continued momentum for us as a business and also open up greater mobility opportunities for our talent across our various businesses,” he said.
