Citi is shaking up its technology leadership and reorganizing its 'crown jewel' services unit

• Citigroup has announced changes in its technology and services divisions.
• CEO Jane Fraser is on a mission to simplify the bank's structure and focus on profitable business lines.
• Two key executives are leaving the bank amid the reshuffles.

Sprawling Citigroup is no stranger to reorganizations since its CEO Jane Fraser took the helm of the global bank in 2021.

Now, the firm has announced changes internally to two divisions key to its transformation: one in the technology unit that underpins the massive bank and another in its services business. The latter helps clients manage and move money globally and is what Fraser has labeled the bank's "crown jewel."

Fraser inherited a bank saddled with regulatory problems and outdated technology that lagged behind its other household-name peers. She has since divested in businesses, announced layoffs of several thousands of roles, and brought in several top executives to help revitalize areas like tech, wealth, and investment banking.

"You can see the very tangible progress we're making in executing the strategy that we laid out at our Investor Day three years ago," Fraser said in a call to analysts last week. "We have materially simplified our firm since then."

Citi's Tim Ryan, head of technology, and Shahmir Khaliq, head of services, sent memos to employees Monday announcing the changes that were seen by Business Insider. Here are the changes each executive laid out and why.

Technology reshuffle

Ryan is rethinking his leadership team to help the bank keep up with the rapid pace of technological changes and "position Citi as a top destination for engineering talent," he said in a memo to the bank's technology and business enablement employees on Monday.

The leadership shakeup will also result in moves across teams to better align with the firm's mission, which Ryan said will be communicated shortly.

"I know that the organization has been through a lot over the last 18 months," Ryan said. "I need you to know that I am making these changes to help secure Citi's future and in doing so, create opportunities. This is the big picture that I ask that we keep at the forefront of our minds."

Ryan said he had taken stock of the tech team's weaknesses and strengths since joining from the top US job at accounting firm PwC last June.

The leadership changes also come after news last Thursday that Shadman Zafar, the bank's co-chief information officer, would be departing the bank, which was earlier reported by Barron's.

Jonathan Lofthouse is now the sole chief information officer, according to the memo. His team will be responsible for all business technology and be "relentlessly focused" on accelerating the modernization and simplification of the bank's technology stack.

Other changes to the lineup include:

• Al Tarasiuk, chief information security officer, will become the head of foundational services taking on oversight of technology infrastructure in addition to security.
• Julien Courbe is joining Citi from PwC as head of functions and enterprise change. His team will be responsible for functions, risk, and finance technology.
• David Griffiths, has been named chief technology officer, head of emerging technology and strategic partnerships. He will work across the organization to deliver and integrate the firm's tech tools. "He will leverage the unparalleled access we have to the world's best technology to ensure Citi is first to the future," said Ryan. Griffiths was previously head of engineering and architecture,
• Ann Barron-DiCamillo will take on a newly created role as head of technology optimization and risk reduction. She will focus on "optimizing" Citi's software to make it consistent and simplified across the business. She was previously the global head of cyber operations.

Services shuffle

Last summer, Citi dedicated an entire investor day to talk about one of its oldest businesses: Citi Services.

The business is being reorganized and a 35-year Citi veteran and a key leader within the unit is leaving. Citi Services, one of the bank's 5 main business lines, is core to Fraser's turnaround strategy as it is seen as a unique business that can be tapped for further revenue growth.

Okan Pekin, global head of securities services, has decided to leave the bank and pursue new opportunities, according to a memo to employees from Khaliq. Okan will stay at Citi through the end of March as a member of the services management team.

His unit, which works with investment managers and companies issuing debt and equity securities, has been renamed as Investor Services and will include custody, fund services, and execution services, Khaliq said in a separate memo. The firm is searching for a new head of investor services.

Pekin has led Citi's services for asset managers since 2013. Under his leadership, he restructured the business, won several client mandates, and built out Citi's ETF business.

He joined the firm in 1989. During his time at Citi, he also led sales in Citi's markets division for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and helped Citi become a leader in the foreign exchange business.

Citi Services' business lines include payments, liquidity management services, trade and working capital solutions, and issuer services.

Artie Ambrose, Citi's current treasury and trade solutions head of operations, will take on an expanded role as Services head of operations.

Khaliq said the division's structure "will continue to evolve" and the bank would share more once it appoints a replacement for Pekin.

"I'm confident that these changes will drive continued momentum for us as a business and will also unlock greater mobility opportunities for our talent across our various businesses," he said.