CEO Corbat Helps Make Citigroup “Simpler, Smaller, Safer, Stronger”

Michael L. Corbat is CEO of Citigroup, the “world’s global bank,” with operations in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions.

Since Corbat took the helm of the New York City-based financial services firm in 2008, his mission has been to make Citi “a simpler, smaller, safer and stronger institution.”

“We believe…Citi has crossed an inflection point. We are now clearly on a path to both growth and stronger returns,” Corbat said in July at the company’s first Investor Day since the 2008 financial crisis.

“I have to tell you how proud I am of the progress we’ve made and how we’ve executed through tough decisions in terms of our capital, our balance sheet and our business model,” he told investors. “We have been rebuilding our credibility, our relationships with our regulators and, very importantly, a culture that’s based on ethics and execution.”

“We believe Citi has crossed an inflection point. We are now clearly on a path to both growth and stronger returns.”

To foster more “constructive collisions,” the CEO and other senior leaders recently gave up their offices for cubicles, Corbat told Mad Money’s host Jim Cramer.

“Information flows, there’s no doors, we come and go from each other’s spaces, we hold meetings together, there’s a trust factor there in terms of communication, and I think it’s resonating in the rest of the firm,” he said.

Corbat is a Citi “lifer” – joining Citi and its predecessor companies after he graduated in 1983 from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in economics. One of his prior roles was CEO of Citi Holdings, Citi’s portfolio of non-core businesses and assets. In this role, he oversaw the divestiture of more than 40 businesses and divested more than $500 billion in assets, reducing risk on the company’s balance sheet and freeing up capital to invest in Citi’s core banking business.

Corbat is No. 45 on Chief Executive and RHR International’s CEO1000 Tracker, a ranking of the top 1,000 public/private companies.

Michael Corbat

CEO (Since October 16, 2012), Citigroup

Previous Position: CEO, Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Company start date: 1983

First Position at Company: Part of fixed income sales department of Saloman Brothers (predecessor company of Citigroup)-not exactly quite sure what

Age: 57

Education: B.A. in Economics from Harvard University