Citigroup Names New President And Head Of Global Consumer Banking

Investment bank Citigroup has promoted Jane Fraser as the corporation’s president, its CEO Michael Corbat announced on Thursday.

The position, which had been vacant since April after the retirement of company stalwart Jame Forese, is usually understood to be reserved for the next-in-line CEO, according to the Wall Street Journal.

What Happened

Fraser will also replace Stephen Bird as the head of Global Consumer Banking, who is leaving the company after 20 years of service in various roles, including the position of the CEO for the Asia Pacific region.

Stephen Bird was expected to become the company’s next president, WSJ reports.

Fraser, a Harvard graduate, worked at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey before joining Citi in 2004 as Head of Client Strategy. She has served in various capacities, such as CEO of Citi Private Bank, CitiMortgage, U.S. Consumer and Commercial Banking, and Citigroup Latin America over the last 15 years.

What’s Next

There are only two women on the 24-member panel of the Citi Operating Committee, with Fraser being one of them. Her promotion puts her in line to become Citigroup’s first female CEO in history.

Fraser has frequently been featured on the list of most powerful women in business globally. American Banker named her as the “No. 1 woman to watch for” in 2015.

But the company’s CEO has hinted that a change at the top is unlikely to come anytime soon.

"I remain committed to leading our firm in the coming years and look forward to working even more closely with Jane in her new roles,” Corbat said in his memo. “We will continue to execute our strategy so we can deliver the results our stakeholders expect and deserve.”