Citigroup is hiring rising star Terri Dial to head its consumer business. Dial is leaving a similar post she held at Lloyd’s TSB, the U.K. checking-account provider, where she was credited with improving its retail bank operations.
Citigroup is hungry for new managers who can shake things up since its business has been socked by the turmoil in the mortgage market. Dial will replace Steven Freiberg, who will reportedly be heading up Citigroup’s global credit-card business.
Dial started out at Wells Fargo, where she worked for a quarter century while rising up the ranks from teller to president. Upon her departure, the San Francisco Chronicle said that Dial,
“was a key spark plug in making Wells into a powerful force in the small-business and consumer banking arenas… Colleagues described Dial as a cyclone — a forceful, charismatic leader who pushed her people hard and inspired the troops with a combination of toughness, good humor and loyalty to subordinates.”
The news comes a day after Citigroup revealed in a memo that it appointed Nick Roe as head of its global equity finance and prime brokerage business. CEO Vikram Pandit has been restructuring Citigroup since taking the helm over from Charles Prince last November.
The image of Citigroup as a premier U.S. bank is at risk of fading, so it remains to be seen if the recent high-level shuffling will help turn the company around.
