Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Homepage

Andy Sieg is quickly shaking up Citi's wealth business. At least 25 senior execs have left since his arrival.

Citi wealth head Andy Sieg against a blue background.
Andy Sieg's mandate is to turn around Citi's ailing wealth business. Merrill Lynch, Abanti Chowdhury/BI
  • The Merrill Lynch veteran Andy Sieg took over Citi's struggling wealth unit in September.
  • At least 25 senior executives, including five of his direct reports, have left since he joined.
  • More exits are expected as Sieg slashes costs and pushes bankers to earn investment fees.
Advertisement

Citi shed 7,000 employees in the first quarter of the year. But the leadership of its ailing wealth unit is continuing to undergo major changes under its new boss, Andy Sieg.

At least 25 senior executives exited Citi's wealth unit since Sieg, a Merrill Lynch veteran, joined in September. Sixteen of the ex-employees had worked at Citi for at least 15 years. These veterans include five of Sieg's 14 direct reports, such as Naz Vahid, the head of the fastest-growing division within Citi Wealth that caters to rich law-firm partners and other executives.

Sieg said at a Morgan Stanley conference on June 12 that few of these departures were regrettable.

"We have had a substantial number of departures, but those departures really come through a level of rigorous self-examination of the business," he said. "We've needed to drive significant change across the team, and we're making those changes."

Advertisement

Julia Carreon, the global head of wealth platform and experiences, wrote in a LinkedIn post in June that she quit to found a menopause wellness company. David Bailin, who departed in May as the chief investment officer, is starting an investment advisory business for family offices. Most of the other departing executives haven't disclosed their reasons for leaving. Citi has undergone a restructuring that reduced the number of management levels to eight from 13.

More exits could be on the way. To turn around the barely profitable wealth unit, Sieg is laser-focused on getting advisors and bankers to sell as many investment products as possible. He said at the conference that only one-third of advisors were meeting expectations.

One of his other goals is to expand Citi's already successful wealth business in Asia. He holds up the bank's reputation among rich customers in Asian capitals such as Hong Kong and Singapore as an example for the rest of the division.

Despite this success, Asian executives have also left the firm amid the upheaval. In February, Sieg attended the ribbon cutting for two new wealth hubs in Singapore for clients with at least $1 million in assets. One month later, Shyam Sambamurthy, the South Asia region head whose purview included Singapore, resigned after 36 years at Citi. At least five other senior Asia executives have left.

Advertisement

Sieg installed a former colleague from Merrill, Don Plaus, when the private bank's North American head, Halé Behzadi, retired in March. He has also hired Dawn Nordberg to lead client-referral efforts between the investment bank and the wealth division. Nordberg, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley, will officially join Citi in September. Keith Glenfield, another Merrill colleague, will start in September as global head of investment products.

Here is our running list of senior departures from Citi Wealth. This list was originally published on April 17 and last updated on July 3, 2024.

NameTitleDeparture dateYears at Citi
David BailinChief investment officer for Citi Global WealthMay 202419
Halé BehzadiHead of private banking for North AmericaMarch 202422
Francesco BertoniEMEA head, investment managementNovember 202320
Alfonso Camacho BustilloGlobal head of market sales and distributionMay 202420
Julia CarreonGlobal head of wealth platform and experiencesJune 20242
Laurie ChanGlobal head of alternative investment salesMarch 20241.5

Hoyt Gier

Global market manager, Western NorthJanuary 202413

Roger Hardon

Head of alternative investment salesJune 202425

Paul Hodes

Asia head of investments, Citi Private Client and Citigold

February 202416

Robert Hoffman

Head of investment counselors for South AsiaJanuary 202410
Keith LeeHong Kong high-net-worth market managerMarch 20241.5
Li-Gang Liu Head of Asia Pacific economic analysisJanuary 20247
Fernando Lopez MunozHead of private banking for Latin AmericaSeptember 202319
Giuliano MalacarneHead of investment finance and bankingNovember 202337
Alex Marshall-TateStrategy head for multi-asset and alternative mutual fundsJanuary 202417
Eduardo Martinez CamposHead of wealth services and strategic investmentsNovember 202320
Mark MillsRegional investment head for EMEADecember 202324
Luigi PigoriniHead of global wealth and private bank for EMEAEarly 202439
Shyam SambamurthySouth Asia head of wealth, international head of Citigold and Citigold Private ClientJune 202436
Fernando Senso CastillaGlobal market manager, Latin America NorthJanuary 202420
Karthik SrinivasanGlobal head of business sales performance management and scorecardsMay 202424
Jeff SuttonGlobal head of portfolio solutions and manager research for private bankApril 20244
Mehrnaz "Naz" VahidGlobal head of wealth at workJune 202438
Eduardo VenturaLatin America head of strategic segments for private bankApril 20244
Seamus YinGlobal market manager for mainland, South, and West China

April 2024

10

Do you work for Citi? Have a tip or story to share? Reach out to Hayley Cuccinello at [email protected] or 917 740 5340, which works for calls, text, and the encrypted messaging app Signal.

Finance Wall Street
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account