When Citi named Victor Menezes the head of its revamped advisory board in India, it was hardly a surprise.
The Pune-born global banker had had a 32-year stint with the company, across geographies, before retiring in January 2005. He was also part of the team that was instrumental in the creation of Citigroup Inc after the merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group.
So, it looks only natural that he has been roped in to head the advisory board at a time when Citi is looking to improve its image after an alleged Rs 400-crore fraud by one of its employees.
An electrical engineer from Indian Institute of Technology-Mumbai and an MSc in finance and economics from the Sloan School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Menezes had joined Citi in 1972 as a management associate in operations.
Within six years, he became Citibank’s chief executive officer in India and later took charge of the bank’s operations in Hong Kong and China.
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Menezes’ reputation as a people’s person, willingness to accept complex and challenging roles and ability to deliver saw him moving up the ladder in no time. His colleagues describe him as someone smart and hard working.
In 1995, Menezes was named the chief financial officer of Citicorp and Citibank, responsible for finance, audit, capital & balance sheet management, mergers & acquisitions and shareholder & regulatory relationships.
After Citigroup Inc was formed in 1998, Menezes became president of Citibank and co-CEO of the global corporate and investment bank.
It surprised many when he decided to retire from Citigroup in 2005, as he was expected to bag the top job one day.
Menezes reckons the Indian Institute of Technology has played an important role in shaping up his professional career.
To express his gratitude, he has made a generous contribution of $3 million for development of a convention centre in institute's Mumbai campus.
