Exhibit 99.1
[CITIGROUP LOGO]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE symbol: C)
August 22, 2005
CITIGROUP ANNOUNCES SENIOR MANAGEMENT REALIGNMENT
REINFORCING CUSTOMER FOCUS
Drawing on Depth of Talent Within the Organization,
Global Consumer Group will be Co-Headed by Ajay Banga and Steven Freiberg
Kevin Kessinger Appointed Head of Operations & Technology
New Operating Committee Formed and Business Heads Committee Expanded
NEW YORK - Citigroup announced today a senior management realignment reinforcing
its customer focus, drawing more directly from the talent and experience of an
emerging base of senior leaders, and providing additional opportunities for
these leaders to expand their involvement in corporate decision making.
"We have ambitious plans for the future and significant growth opportunities for
our company, and we have been carefully reviewing how we can best leverage the
talent and experience within our management team in support of our goals," said
Charles Prince, Citigroup's Chief Executive Officer. "This is a strong
management structure and a strong management team to lead our company given the
needs of our business and the accelerated pace at which we must make strategic
decisions and respond to the needs of our customers. I am proud of the caliber
of our next-generation of leaders and their dedication to our future."
o The Global Consumer Group will now be organized along customer lines.
Recognizing the different opportunities in the North American and
International retail consumer marketplaces, Ajay Banga, 45, currently
President of Retail Banking North America, and Steven J. Freiberg, 48,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citi Cards NA, will become co-heads
of the Global Consumer Group, with Mr. Banga leading the International
operations and Mr. Freiberg leading the North American business (U.S. and
Canada). Both executives will report to Mr. Prince and join the Business
Heads Committee. Marjorie Magner, 56, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of the Global Consumer Group, will leave the company on October 1st to
pursue her long-term interests in areas outside of financial services,
including academia and philanthropy.
The new structure will enable the company to better focus on the customer's
needs in an integrated fashion across all product lines and more
effectively respond to the specific opportunities in markets at different
stages in their development. Each executive has more than 25 years of
experience in retail services. The Global Consumer Group staff functions
will remain centralized and will report jointly to Mr. Banga and Mr.
Freiberg.
o Kevin Kessinger, 52, currently President of Consumer Finance North America,
will assume responsibility for Citigroup Operations and Technology
succeeding Deborah Hopkins, 50. Ms. Hopkins joined Citigroup nearly three
years ago with the understanding that she eventually wanted to pursue a
senior role in a business unit - which she will now do. Ms.
Hopkins has led development of Citigroup's long-term technology and
information security strategy. As we move from strategy to implementation,
it is an opportune time for this transition. In the near future, she will
work with Mr. Prince and the Business Heads to evaluate certain
international investment opportunities. Mr. Kessinger was responsible for
many of the operating and technical innovations within the Cards division
when he served as its Chief Operating Officer, and led many critical
initiatives bridging operations and technology within CitiFinancial in his
current position.
o Manuel Medina-Mora, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup Latin
America and Mexico and Chief Executive Officer of Banamex, will join the
Business Heads Committee, which will expand its membership to 13.
Medina-Mora has been the CEO of Banamex since 2001. Between 2002-2004,
Mexico net income nearly doubled. He is responsible for Citigroup's Latin
America and Mexico businesses including: the Corporate and Investment Bank,
eBanking, Treasury, Consumer Bank, Cards Business, Retail Banking,
Insurance, Pension Funds, Securities, Brokerage, and Asset Management, with
a workforce of more than 45,000 employees.
o A new approximately 30-person Operating Committee will be formed, which
will consider strategic issues, foster greater knowledge sharing among the
businesses and accelerate organizational decision making and implementation
of initiatives.
Organization of Global Consumer Group Along Customer Lines
The realignment of the consumer businesses, with distinct leadership
responsibility for the North American market and for the International markets,
responds to the evolving needs of Citigroup's retail customers, as the North
American markets become more mature and focused on innovation and the company
seeks additional ways to capitalize upon the tremendous pace of growth in
international markets. The realignment is designed to reinforce the company's
customer-oriented organization, leveraging Citi's leading financial brand across
product lines.
"Both Ajay and Steve bring a tremendous depth of knowledge and experience to
their current roles and are fully focused on the substantial opportunities in
our consumer franchise," said Mr. Prince. "They have been key members of our
Consumer business leadership for many years, and have impressive records of
success in their respective business areas. Importantly, they have a great
working relationship, and they will continue to share best practices and deliver
innovative, best-in-class products and services to retail customers across
geographies, under a single, industry leading brand."
Ajay Banga joined Citigroup in 1996 and has extensive international experience
in a variety of consumer-related roles. Since early 2002, he has been the
President of Retail Banking North America. During this period, he has overseen
the expansion of the branch banking business through acquisitions, the creation
and successful operation of the commercial business group, and the substantial
growth of our mortgage and student lending franchises. He is also responsible
for servicing and technology for all the real estate businesses in the Consumer
Bank. While in his current role, the Retail Banking North America division grew
50% in net income from just under $2 billion in 2001 to $3 billion in 2004.
Prior to this, he was the business head for CitiFinancial and the U.S. Consumer
Assets Division. Ajay joined the bank in India in 1996 and over the next two
years, rose to become the Division Head for the Consumer Bank in Central/Eastern
Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Since his time with
Citigroup, Mr. Banga has had extensive experience in acquisition and integration
of businesses, including Associates, Golden State Bank, Principal Residential
Mortgage and recently, First American Bank. Mr. Banga began his business career
as a management trainee with Nestle in
1981 and later joined PepsiCo's Restaurants Division, where he was instrumental
in the launch of Pizza Hut and KFC in India.
Mr. Freiberg has spent 25 years in Citigroup and its predecessor companies with
extensive experience in cards, retail banking, investments and insurance.
Currently, as Chairman and CEO of Citi Cards NA, Mr. Freiberg has been
responsible for Citigroup's market-leading credit card business in the U.S.,
Mexico and Canada, with more than 125 million card accounts and approximately
$140 billion in managed loans outstanding. In the 8 years in which he held these
positions, he has helped to expand the business' profitability tenfold. He
joined Citigroup's Card Products Division in 1980 as a Management Associate and
has served in a variety of senior management positions in marketing, business
planning, distribution, and finance in Cards and other Citigroup divisions.
These included Chief Executive Officer for Retail Banking's Citicorp Investment
Services and the Citicorp Insurance Group and distribution head for a segment of
the retail bank. He rejoined the Cards Division in 1997, as head of several
major strategic business groups that drove a turnaround in that business.
Corporate Management Changes in O&T
Mr. Kessinger has an extensive background in operations and technology, in
addition to his record of success as a business manager. After joining Citi
Cards operations and technology in 1995, he initially was responsible for
directing the cards data warehouse construction, various cards systems, and
multiple initiatives building operational effectiveness. From 1996-1998, Mr.
Kessinger was head of the American AAdvantage Strategic Business Unit and
president of the Kansas City call center which doubled under his direction. He
returned to Cards Operations and Technology in 1998 and was Chief Operating
Officer, responsible for the operations and technology of Citi Cards. Kevin and
his team directed the very successful integration and conversions of AT&T
Universal Card, the Associates bankcard and private label cards, and numerous
operating and technical innovations to lead the industry as the low-cost/high
quality provider. Since 2002, Mr. Kessinger has been responsible for all
companies operating under the Consumer Finance North America umbrella, including
CitiFinancial branches in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico,
CitiFinancial Mortgage Company, Citicorp Trust Bank, f.s.b., Auto Division,
Credito Familiar in Mexico and Chesapeake Appraisal & Settlement Services. He
was head of Information Security for the Global Consumer Group from 2001-2004.
Prior to joining Citigroup, Mr. Kessinger ran Banc One Financial Cards Services,
the O&T support organization for all of Bank One's credit and debit cards.
Creation of New Operating Committee
The new approximately 30-person Operating Committee is designed to meet on a
regular basis to discuss company and business-wide strategic issues, foster
greater knowledge sharing among the businesses and accelerate organizational
decision making and implementation of initiatives. In addition it will provide a
greater number of executives the opportunity to be included in corporate-wide
decision making. Membership lists for the Business Heads and the Operating
Committee are below.
Business Heads:
Charles Prince, Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup
Ajay Banga, Chief Executive Officer, Global Consumer Group - International
Sir Win Bischoff, Chairman, Citigroup Europe
David Bushnell, Senior Risk Officer, Citigroup
Michael A. Carpenter, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup Global
Investments
Robert Druskin, President & Chief Executive Officer, Corporate and Investment
Banking
Steven J. Freiberg, Chief Executive Officer, Global Consumer Group - North
America
Lewis B. Kaden, Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer, Citigroup
Sallie L. Krawcheck, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy, Citigroup
Manuel Medina-Mora, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Latin America & Mexico,
Chief Executive Officer, Banamex
Robert E. Rubin, Director & Chairman of the Executive Committee Member, Office
of the Chairman, Citigroup
Todd Thomson, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Global Wealth Management
Stephen R. Volk, Vice Chairman, Citigroup
Operating Committee (also includes the Business Heads above):
Frank J. Bisignano, Chief Executive Officer, Global Transaction Services,
Corporate and Investment Banking
Bonnie Howard, Chief Auditor, Citigroup
Michael S. Helfer, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, Citigroup
Charles Johnston, President & Chief Executive Officer, Global Private Client
Group
Kevin Kessinger, Chief Operations & Technology Officer
Michael Klein, Chief Executive Officer, Global Banking, Citigroup
Damian Kozlowski, Chief Executive Officer, The Citigroup Private Bank
Thomas G. Maheras, Chief Executive Officer, Global Capital Markets, Corporate
and Investment Banking
William J. Mills, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Europe, Middle East and
Africa Corporate and Investment Banking
Robert Morse, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific Corporate and Investment
Banking
Douglas L. Peterson, Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup Japan Chairman and CEO,
Citibank Japan
William Rhodes, Senior Vice Chairman, Citigroup, Chairman, Citicorp/Citibank
Michael Schlein, Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs, Human
Resources, and Business Practices, Citigroup
Frits Seegers, Chief Executive Officer, Europe, Middle East and Africa Global
Consumer Group
Ashok Vaswani, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific Consumer Banking
# # #
Citigroup (NYSE: C), the leading global financial services company has some 200
million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries,
providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad
range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit,
corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management.
Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark red umbrella include Citibank,
CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may
be found at www.citigroup.com
Certain statements in this document are "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements are
based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and
changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those
included in these statements due to a variety of factors. More information about
these factors is contained in Citigroup's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Media Contacts: Leah Johnson 212-559-9446
Shannon Bell 212-793-6206
Investors: Arthur Tildesley 212-559-2718
John Randel 212-559-5091