Indian CEOs are pulling their weight in the big league
VIKRAM PANDIT’S elevation as Citigroup’s Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors is another glorious feather in the NRI cap of many colours. Pandit, most recently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Institutional Clients Group, which comprises Citi Markets & Banking and Citi Alternative Investments, was founding member and chairman of Old Lane, LP, a multi-strategy hedge fund and private equity fund manager acquired by Citi in 2007.
Prior to founding Old Lane, he held a number of senior positions at Morgan Stanley over more than two decades, including President and Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities Group, which included Morgan Stanley’s investment banking, fixed income and capital markets businesses.
Pandit serves on the boards of Columbia University, Columbia Business School, and India School of Business, Hyderabad. The New York Times commented, “a calm, dispassionate man with a professorial bent and a PhD in finance from Columbia, Mr Pandit’s selfless disposition has caused him to stand out from his banking peers.”
The paper added: “His administrative and technical skills, plus an ability to make himself indispensable to boss-es like John J Mack and Phillip J Purcell, fueled his career at Morgan Stanley, where he became president.
“But he is also a retiring man, not prone to ruthless acts, with a natural hesitancy about taking risks, both professional and personal.”
