Abstract

The case is about the sudden exit of Vikram Pandit (Pandit), the CEO of Citigroup on October 16, 2012, a day after the company reported strong quarterly results. Pandit had joined Citigroup in July 2007, when he sold his hedge fund, Old Lane Partners LLC, to Citigroup for US$800 million. Within months of joining the company, he was made the CEO of Citigroup on December 11, 2007. The case discusses the performance of Citigroup under Pandit. It also describes in detail the initiatives Pandit took to turn the company around. It highlights Pandit’s abrupt exit from the company and the response of analysts to it. The case goes on to discuss the corporate governance issues including Pandit’s relationship with the board of directors, the role of the Chairman in Pandit’s ouster, and the role of the board in general in CEO succession planning in Citigroup.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand various issues and challenges in corporate governance of a multinational financial institution
• Understand issues related to the board’s role in setting the strategic direction for a company, the CEO’s relationship with the board, etc.
• Understand the issues of CEO succession planning in a company and evaluate the role of Board of Directors in succession planning

Keywords

Succession planning, CEO Succession planning, Corporate governance, CEO’s relationship with the board, Organizational behavior, Strategic direction, Turnaround, Organizational structure