Citi Names New CFO and Reorganizes Units in Surprise Moves

Citi executive Gonzalo Luchetti will take on the finance chief role in early March from Mark Mason, pictured. (Citi; David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• Citigroup announced a new CFO, Gonzalo Luchetti, effective in early March, replacing Mark Mason.
• Mason will transition to executive vice chair and senior executive advisor to the CEO.
• Citigroup will restructure, integrating retail banking into wealth management and making U.S. consumer cards a core business.

Citigroup plans to name a new chief financial officer effective next March and restructure core parts of its business, the bank said in an unexpected announcement Thursday afternoon.

Gonzalo Luchetti, the bank’s head of U.S. personal banking who joined the firm nearly 20 years ago, will take over as finance chief in early March from Mark Mason, who has held the role since 2019.

Mason will become executive vice chair of the bank and senior executive advisor to Citi Chair and Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser, and will advise on strategic initiatives. He “intends to pursue his leadership aspirations outside of Citi by the end of 2026,” the bank said.

Citi is also changing how it organizes key businesses.

Retail banking will fold into the wealth management division as a way to accelerate growth, the bank said, while U.S. consumer cards will become one of Citi’s five main businesses.

Longtime Citi executive Kate Luft will lead a group that unites several client tiers—Everyday Banking, Citi Priority, Citigold, and Citigold Private Client—and report to wealth head Andy Sieg. Citi’s branded cards and retail-services businesses will become the U.S. consumer cards business, led by Pam Habner. She will report to Fraser and join the executive management team.

Citi is undergoing a yearslong revamp led by Fraser and Mason’s management team.

The continuing turnaround was prompted by years of underperformance and regulatory missteps. The firm is still working to resolve consent orders its regulators issued in 2020 over insufficient risk management and other problems.

Under Fraser, who took over as CEO in March 2021 and was named chair of the board last month, the firm has restructured, carried out mass layoffs and leadership changes, and outlined new financial goals.

Citi’s board of directors signaled confidence in Fraser’s performance last month when it awarded her a bonus structured as an incentive to keep her at the helm for several more years.

On Thursday, Fraser said Mason has been “an invaluable partner” and has “helped Citi navigate some of our most challenging times.” Mason, who joined the bank in 2001, said his tenure as CFO “stands as one of the most demanding and fulfilling chapters of my career.”

The bank said Mason “initiated the transition of his responsibilities at this time to ensure that Citi’s next CFO is in place for the next phase of Citi’s growth trajectory.”

Citi said he would work closely with Luchetti to “ensure the delivery of the 2026 return target” and help plan for Citi’s investor day, which is scheduled for May 2026.

In after-hours trading Thursday, shares of Citi rose 0.2%. The stock is up 40% this year while the S&P 500 has risen 11.4%.

Write to Rebecca Ungarino at rebecca.ungarino@barrons.com