Weill’s Expected Successor to Leave Citigroup

Citigroup said James Dimon, the chief assistant to Co-Chairman Sanford Weill for more than 15 years and his expected successor to one day lead the world’s largest financial company, will leave.

Deryck Maughan, co-chief executive of Citigroup’s Salomon Smith Barney Inc. brokerage unit, will become vice chairman of the company, which was formed last month after the $37.4-billion merger of Travelers Group and Citicorp. Michael Carpenter and Victor Menezes were named co-chief executives, the company said in a prepared statement.

Jack Morris, a spokesman for Citigroup, told the Associated Press that Dimon’s departure was agreed upon mutually.

Dimon, 42, was president of Citigroup and chairman and co-chief executive of Salomon Smith Barney. The company quoted Dimon as saying: “I know that Citigroup is well poised for growth, so this is a perfect time for me to leave and regenerate with some new opportunities.”

Citicorp and Travelers said in May that Dimon would be president of the merged companies, with Citigroup Co-Chairman John Reed saying then he was “very much in favor” of choosing Dimon as president.

Dimon won’t be leaving Citigroup empty-handed. He realized $36.8 million in 1997 by exercising options on 2.4 million shares, according Travelers’ proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

His compensation, exclusive of gains from exercising options, more than doubled to $23.1 million from $10.1 million in 1996. That package included a $4.6-million bonus, $2.2 million of restricted stock, the same $650,000 salary as the previous year, and options to buy 2.7 million shares valued at the time at $15.6 million.

Citigroup also said it’s integrating the operations of its Salomon Smith Barney subsidiary, a unit of Travelers, and the corporate banking activities of Citibank “to form the world’s strongest combined global investment and corporate bank.”

Maughan will oversee this integration and the company’s activities in Japan, Citigroup said.

Carpenter will be primarily responsible for Salomon Smith Barney’s private client, investment banking and capital markets units, the firm said.

Menezes will oversee the firm’s global customer relationships and emerging markets businesses, in addition to transaction banking, which includes cash management, trade products and worldwide securities services.

In their new roles, Maughan, Menezes and Carpenter will report to Weill and Reed.