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Published December 6, 2007 at 12:44 PM
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As the prospects of snagging a Wall Street insider as the next CEO of troubled Citigroup Inc. dim, the financial giant reportedly is looking beyond the confines of the world of banking. DealBook is reporting that the firm's search committee has considered a dark horse candidate: Michael A. Neal, a General Electric Co. vice chairman and the head of the conglomerate's commercial finance unit.
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The list of bankers turning down approaches seems to grow every day. Just this week, Deutsche Bank AG's chief Josef Ackermann said nein. Other bankers refusing to talk to Citi include Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc's CEO Sir Fred Goodwin, and Treasury Secretary and former Goldman, Sachs & Co. chief Henry Paulson.
Consequently, Dealscape has updated its handy color-coded "CliffsNotes" of possible candidates compiled from various sources. We've slotted Neal in as third, and turned all of the outside bankers to blue as we suspect some will join the second list.
- Vikram S. Pandit, 50, founder of Old Lane Partners LP, who following Citi's $800 million purchase of the hedge fund, now heads Citi's alternative investment group and the investment bank
- Robert B. Willumstad, 62, Citigroup’s former chief operating officer, who left in 2005 after being passed over in favor of Chuck Prince for the CEO spot, currently the chairman of American International Group Inc.
- Michael A. Neal, a General Electric vice chairman and the head of the conglomerate's commercial finance unit
- Richard M. Kovacevich, 64, a former Citicorp executive in the 1980s, who later became chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo
- James Dimon, the 51-year-old J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. chairman and chief executive
- John Thornton, a longtime dealmaking executive at Goldman, Sachs & Co.
- Kenneth I. Chenault, American Express Co.’s 56-year-old chairman and chief executive
- Richard D. Fairbank, Capital One Financial Corp.’s 57-year-old founder and chief executive
- Michel Tilmant, 55, the Belgian-born chairman and chief executive of ING Groep NV
- Laurence D. Fink, BlackRock Inc.’s 55-year-old founder and chief executive, who was on Merrill Lynch's short list before John Thain was named CEO
Off the list:
- Josef Ackermann, 59, Deutsche Bank AG CEO
- Henry M. Paulson Jr., 61, currently the Treasury secretary
- Michael Goodwin, the CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc
- John A. Thain, head of the New York Stock Exchange, who left to become CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co., thereby taking him off the list
— Matthew Wurtzel
See Neal story from DealBook
See Ackermann story from the Financial Times
See Ackermann story from the New York Post
See Ackermann story from Dealbreaker
See Dealscape: Rubin approached RBS' Goodwin
See Dealscape: John Thain is not a Citi contender
See Dealscape: An open field for Citi's CEO spot?
See Dealscape: Music stops for Citi's Prince
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