The Wall Street Journal-20080130-Citigroup Taps Veterans as It Beefs Up

Return to: The_Wall_Street_Journal-20080130

Citigroup Taps Veterans as It Beefs Up

Full Text (339  words)

In Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Vikram Pandit's latest move to beef up the firm's pool of Wall Street talent, the New York bank announced the hiring of three senior-level executives, led by the former financial-institutions chief in J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s investment bank.

Edward "Ned" Kelly, 54 years old, who most recently headed a team at the Carlyle Group charged with hunting for financial-services deals, is one of Citigroup's highest-profile hirings in recent years. He left J.P. Morgan in 2001 to become president and CEO of Mercantile Bankshares Inc., a medium-size bank-holding company in Baltimore.

A lawyer by training, Mr. Kelly ran Mercantile until it was sold last year to PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Pittsburgh, for about $6 billion.

At Citigroup, Mr. Kelly will be president of the alternative- investments unit, which has more than $59 billion of assets under management. The position is new.

Aside from his stint at Carlyle, Mr. Kelly lacks much experience in the world of alternative investments. But his list of financial- services industry contacts will be helpful as he oversees dealings with clients. Mr. Kelly also has previous connections to Citigroup, including having worked with Lewis Kaden, a vice chairman at the bank, when both men were lawyers at New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell.

Citigroup wants to bolster its alternatives division, which includes internal hedge funds and private-equity funds. The unit has struggled recently, with its profit plunging 89% to $61 million in the fourth quarter.

Citigroup's investment bank also hired two Goldman Sachs Group Inc. alumni. Jaime E. Yordan, a well-respected investment banker in Latin America who retired from Goldman in 2005, will become a vice chairman in the investment bank's Latin American arm. Armando Diaz, a Goldman partner, will now run the U.S. institutional cash trading business in Citigroup's investment bank.

In a statement, Mr. Pandit said the three executives "will play a key role as we continue to move ahead in areas with significant growth opportunities for the company." Mr. Kelly wasn't available for comment.