Citigroup President Quits to Seek Top Job Elsewhere

Citigroup Inc.’s president and chief operating officer, Robert B. Willumstad, has decided to step down from those positions to seek the top job at a public company, the financial services giant announced Thursday.

Citigroup said Willumstad, 59, intended to work with management to assure an orderly transition of his responsibilities between now and September.

Willumstad has been president since 2002. He was given the COO title as well in 2003 as a consolation prize when he was passed over for the chief executive position, which went to Charles Prince. Prince, 55, took over from Sanford Weill, who gave up the CEO title but remained chairman of the New York-based bank.

Willumstad also will leave Citigroup’s board of directors, the statement said. Citigroup said it would not fill the positions Willumstad was vacating.

The announcement was made after the close of regular trading Thursday. Citigroup shares rose 76 cents to $46.50.

Willumstad, in a statement, said he was seeking a position as CEO of a public company.

From 2000 to 2003, Willumstad headed Citigroup’s global consumer businesses. Under his direction, revenue at the group grew from $28 billion to $41 billion while net income rose 23% a year, Citigroup said.

“During this time, the consumer business acquired, and successfully integrated, a number of businesses in the United States and across the world,” the Citigroup statement said.

Starting in 2003, Willumstad worked with Prince on a number of transactions, including the acquisition of First American Bank and the sale of Travelers Life & Annuity to MetLife Inc.