The Citigroup Chairman, Mr Richard Parsons, will step down from the board of the company and will be replaced by fellow director Mr Michael E O’Neill.
Mr Parsons, who has been the Chairman of the board since 2009 and a board member since 1996, will step down at the upcoming annual meeting of stockholders in April.
The board, consistent with its pre-existing succession planning, intends to select Mr Michael E O’Neill to succeed Parsons as Chairman following the stockholder meeting, Citigroup said in a statement.
Mr Parsons was instrumental in steering the company back from the financial turmoil in 2008.
Mr Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citi, said: “He has been a terrific partner as we embarked on transforming Citi and returning to our core capabilities of providing banking services to our clients around the world, and it was under his stewardship of the board that Citi was able to return to a position of strength among its peers.”
Commenting on the development Mr Parsons said, “Citi still faces a challenging environment, as do all the large banks, but the crisis is behind us. Given the strong position that Citi is in today, I have concluded that the time has come for me to take my leave.”
“In Mike O’Neill, the Board will have the perfect leader to enable it to continue providing the oversight and guidance America’s global bank deserves,” Mr Parsons added.
Previously served in the positions of President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman at Time Warner, where he led the company’s turnaround after its merger with America Online in 2000.
Prior to that, he was managing partner of the New York law firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, and held various positions in state and federal government.
In addition to Mr Parsons, Mr Alain J.P. Belda, a board member since 1997, and Mr Timothy C. Collins, a board member since 2009, will also step down from the board of Citigroup.
Citi, is a leading global financial services company, has around 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions.