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Tuesday, 10 April 2012 00:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Citi last week announced that Rohan Weerasinghe will join the company as its General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.
Michael Helfer, who has been General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for nine years, will become Vice Chairman. Both appointments are effective 1 June.
Weerasinghe is currently Senior Partner at Shearman and Sterling, an international law firm advising corporations, financial institutions and governments with approximately 900 lawyers and offices in 20 cities around the world. For the past 35 years, Weerasinghe has advised and represented financial institutions and corporations on issues including corporate governance, complex transactions, and IPOs and debt issues. Citi’s business unit general counsels, regional general counsels, and corporate deputy general counsels will report to Weerasinghe.
“Rohan has a great track record as an attorney, and I have tremendous confidence in his abilities. I look forward to him bringing his expertise and insights to Citi. He has a strong international background, leading his firm’s relationships with multi-national corporations and financial institutions around the world, including in the emerging markets,” said Citi CEO Vikram Pandit. “Michael has provided almost a decade of wise counsel and has experience in virtually every area where finance and the law intersect. He is an invaluable resource for this company and we are delighted that he will continue to focus on domestic and international regulatory issues in his role as Vice Chairman.”
“I am excited to have the opportunity to go from one leading global organisation to another,” said Rohan Weerasinghe. “Having spent 35 years advising companies on their most critical legal issues, I am looking forward to this new professional challenge – leading Citi’s world-class legal organisation as it continues to provide important guidance to the company.”
Weerasinghe, 61, graduated from Harvard College in 1972 and received his M.B.A. and J.D. from Harvard in 1977. Among other posts, he is a Trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace and a partner of the Partnership for New York City.
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.