For years, I spent my time updating strategy—working to align with each new corporate mantra, asking to be integrated into the organization with every restructuring. It was clear that much thought had gone into what the “new” organization was supposed to represent. Each time, I searched for where my team fit in the design. We…
I was laid off by Citi in January, 2024. I was 69 at the time and had a combined 45 years of tenure dating back to Shearson. I had recently chosen to leave a Regional Director position managing the state of CA for Wealth Management. I was very highly regarded by my team, my colleagues…
I noticed the submission describing HR pressure on managers to terminate employees in ways that avoided paying severance. I believe a major publication investigated this practice at Citi and ultimately did not run the story because of *obvious* pressure from the company, despite evidence suggesting it was widespread. Perhaps this will encourage said-publication to pick…
Here’s a legendary Citi story: A male MD known for bullying called a female peer an expletive in a team meeting. A complaint was filed; it was investigated and confirmed to be true. But the complainant was told that he “was misunderstood / didn’t mean it.” It was later confirmed by a colleague who had…
At one point I was discussing with my line manager and HR to upgrade a role under me by hiring someone externally to replace an internal veteran. Given the long tenured contributions by the internal veteran, I want to be respectful and thoughtful to find her a role that would suit her. Instead HR was…
A female employee of Hispanic background with a near-20-year tenure with Citi raised her discontent to me on the first day we met. Nothing new unfortunately – three line managers in 10 months of just one year, unclear roles and responsibilities due to endless reorganization/transformation, and stalled career… Except…she just gave birth and had suffered…
In 2024, in the drive for operational efficiency, a.k.a. cost reduction, across Citi Wealth there was a wave of “demotions” to downgrade employees’ corporate rank. Majority of the downgrades happen to those at the level of C15 which is typically senior Director level reporting to Managing Directors at C16. These downgrades from C15 to C14…
Every firm on Wall Street has its problem, but it’s an open secret at Citi that if you are a woman under HR investigation, the odds are not in your favor. Might as well start packing your bags. Katniss
My experience as a Director at Citi was marked by ambiguity and marginalization. Over the course of my career, I achieved many accomplishments that the firm proudly highlighted in its literature as evidence of success. Yet, despite leading these efforts, my contributions were rarely attributed to me directly. I was never named as the individual…
I was a top performing Director at Citi when I was called into an HR investigation related to an employee who was unhappy about being placed on a performance plan. At the start of the call, the questions focused on that situation, as expected. Near the end of the discussion, without any warning or context,…