The Economist places its weight behind Shaukat
Aziz as the ideal CEO of Citigroup:
The 58-year-old joined Citibank in 1969, and worked in various parts of its
global empire—including Britain, Greece and Malaysia—before eventually
becoming global head of Citi’s private bank. So he knows the firm well,
and certainly has good international experience.
He left in 1999 to become the finance minister of Pakistan; he is now prime
minister. Pakistan’s economy has flourished during this time, even as
its politics have deteriorated. Given the country’s current state of
emergency, he may be tempted to find an exit. He would surely be alone amongst
potential recruits in regarding the job as an opportunity for a quieter life.
If it happened, Citi would have former finance ministers as both Chairman (Rubin)
and CEO (Aziz). They say that Citigroup is the size of a small country; maybe
it needs an experienced pol to run it.