Some people knew Citi’s reorg was coming, and they were far beyond the likes of Jane Fraser, Andy Sieg and Mike Mason. Less exalted insiders were already signalling Mason’s exit on Wednesday. “Jane is looking to make some moves,” predicted one.
Get Morning Coffee ☕ in your inbox. Sign up here.
Those moves were announced after the US market closed yesterday. CFO Mike Mason is leaving Citi of his own volition; Gonzalo Luchetti, the former head of US personal banking will be assuming Mason’s CFO role from March next year; Sieg will now manage Citi’s combined retail bank and wealth management business; Kate Luft – who’d been Citi’s head of retail banking for eight months, will now be head of retail banking and of Citigold, its premium banking and wealth management service; and Pam Habner, the former head of branded cards and lending, will be head of a new business called US consumer cards. Habner will also join Citi’s executive management team.
Citi insiders say the changes have a few effects.
Firstly they mean that Citi’s 19 person executive management team now contains four women instead of three and one of those women (Habner) is the head of a business line. Previously, there was just Fraser (CEO), Margo Pilic (chief of staff) and Sarah Wechter (chief human resources officer).
Secondly, they mean that Andy Sieg looks secure in his role despite ongoing rumblings against him following accusations – which Citi insists it’s thoroughly investigated – that he behaved harshly to senior female colleagues. Some Citi insiders suspect that Fraser offered Sieg control over the US retail bank as well as wealth management as an inducement to join when she first recruited him. On this basis, it may only have been a matter of time before Luchetti was moved. Becoming CFO looks like ample incentive for Luchetti to hand over his retail empire, although analyst Mike Mayo has already questioned whether Luchetti has the right experience for the CFO role.
Thirdly, they leave David Poole, Citi’s US head of wealth management, reporting to Kate Luft, who’s now running the Citigold team. Poole joined Citi from BofA in 2020. Sieg joined Citi from BofA in 2023. The two aren’t thought to be especially close. Poole is thought to have helped make Citigold profitable and may have wanted the senior position himself.
Fourthly, they mean that two family members now have senior roles at Citi. Luft is understood to be the sister of Sarah Wechter. The two have worked at Citi for over a decade: Luft joined 17 years ago; Wechter joined in 2004. Citi is one big family.
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Signal: sarahbutcher.22 Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email [email protected].
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: comments are moderated intermittently by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You must take sole responsibility for comments you post on this site. We will take reasonable steps to weed out anything that we consider to be offensive or inappropriate.
