Citi's Asia-Pacific CEO To Depart
Banga's departure comes less than a year after the CEO of Citi's Asia-Pacific institutional clients group.
June 19, 2009
Citigroup announced today that Ajay Banga, chief executive of its Asia-Pacific division, will depart. The firm stated that a replacement "will be named shortly."
Banga is leaving Citi to become president and chief operating officer of MasterCard.
Banga, 49, who oversees all of Citi's business lines from India to Japan, was named to his current position last year. He is also a member of Citi's executive and senior leadership committees.
Ajay BangaNews of Banga's upcoming departure comes less than a year after Citi announced that the CEO of its Asia-Pacific institutional clients group, Robert Morse (a 23-year employee who had served as global head of investment banking earlier in his tenure) was leaving "to pursue other opportunities." At the time of that announcement in August 2008, Citi stated Banga would take over Morse's responsibilities.
Banga first joined Citi in 1996 and served as chairman and CEO of the firm's international global consumer group, which encompassed all consumer banking and credit card operations outside of North America, from 2005 until 2008. His other roles at the company include president of North American retail banking, and business head of CitiFinancial and the U.S. consumer assets division.
"I want to thank Ajay for his leadership and for the significant contributions he has made to building the great global franchise that Citi is today," Citi CEO Vikram Pandit said in a press release. "Our Asia-Pacific executive committee and colleagues across the region are to be commended for their extraordinary client focus and success in building a unified Citi in this important part of the world and we look forward to continuing to build upon that success."
Banga serves on the board of Kraft Foods and began his career at Nestle in 1981. He also worked for PepsiCo, where he helped launch the company's international fast food franchises in his native India.
"I have had the privilege of serving for nearly 13 years at a company distinguished by a unique global franchise and a commitment to innovation," Banga said in the press release. "I am proud to have worked with terrific colleagues around the world who have been tireless in their efforts to achieve the aspirations of their clients. These people are one of the many great reasons to be confident in Citi's future and in the unmatched opportunity that's being created every day."
Banga, who graduated from Delhi University and the Indian Institute of Management, is also a member of the Asia Society's board of trustees.
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