Citi’s Board of Directors has nominated four new independent director candidates to be voted on at Citi’s annual shareholder meeting on April 21, 2009. The candidates are Jerry A. Grundhofer, Michael E. O’Neill, Anthony M. Santomero Ph.D., and William S. Thompson, Jr.
“This is a solid slate of candidates with extensive banking and financial services experience, a deep understanding of international credit and equity markets, and first-hand knowledge of the governing regulatory system,” says Richard Parsons, chairman of the board. “These outstanding individuals will be great stewards for Citi as it navigates the ongoing challenges in the present environment and works to restore profitability. As I said earlier this year, we are committed to reconstituting the Board with a majority of new independent directors. The election of these candidates will be a major step toward achieving our goal.”
Parsons noted that the Board currently has 15 directors, three of whom previously announced that they will not be standing for election at the April Annual Meeting and two of whom will reach retirement age by the time of the Meeting. The remaining 10 directors are up for re-election. With the election of the four new candidates announced today, the total number of Board members would be 14. The Board will consider future additions as well.
Jerry A. Grundhofer, 64, is Chairman Emeritus and retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Board of U.S. Bancorp. Previously, Grundhofer was President and Chief Executive Officer of Firstar Corporation and its predecessor Star Banc; and was Vice Chairman of BankAmerica Corporation (now Bank of America). Currently, Grundhofer serves on the Board of Directors of Ecolab. Grundhofer received a B.S. in Finance from Loyola Marymount University.
Michael E. ONeill, 62, is the retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Hawaii. Under O’Neill’s leadership, Bank of Hawaii refocused its operations on its core businesses in Hawaii, the Western Pacific, and American Samoa, while divesting underperforming operations in Arizona, California, Asia and the South Pacific. Previously, O’Neill was Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer at BankAmerica Corporation (now Bank of America) from 1995-1999. O’Neill earned an MBA from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia and a B.A. in European Civilization from Princeton University. O’Neill also served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1969-1971.
Anthony M. Santomero, PH.D., 62, most recently a Senior Advisor at McKinsey & Company, served as the ninth President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia from 2000-2006. While at the Federal Reserve, he was a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, served as Chair of the System’s Committee on Credit and Risk Management and also as member of the Financial Services Policy Committee and the Payments System Policy Advisory Committee. Previously, Dr. Santomero was the Richard K. Mellon Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Deputy Dean of the School. He received his Ph.D. from Brown University, and his A.B. in Economics from Fordham University.
William S. Thompson, Jr., 63, retired in 2008 as CEO of PIMCO, the world’s leading fixed income investment management company. Thompson guided PIMCO to significant growth and profitability during his tenure, expanding the firm from one office and 125 employees and $40 billion in assets under management, to nine offices around the world, over 1000 employees and more than $800 billion of client assets. Thompson is on the Board of Pacific LifeCorp. Prior to joining PIMCO in April 1993, Thompson served as Chairman of Salomon Brothers Asia Ltd. in Tokyo. Thompson received his MBA from Harvard Business School and B.S. in Engineering from the University of Missouri.
D.C.