Pandit faces a tough course

The Citigroup board late Tuesday made good on all the media leaks that indicated Vikram Pandit would be named CEO. So it was no surprise. What was somewhat surprising was the rather public airing of doubt that some directors had. So he comes in with something less than a full vote of confidence. It's as if the board ws saying, 'How much worse can things get?' But it's all spilled milk now. You can bet, however, that Pandit will not get an extended honeymoon, though it's unclear if he will be expected to sign off on Citigroup's 4Q earnings. Cost cuts are a given. So are minor asset sales. It's fair to assume that he'll have to quickly get to the strategic issue: whether to bust up the company. Another mild surprise in all this: Win Bischoff as chairman.  

For more:
- here's the press release
- here's some background from the New York Times
- here's more on the globalization of the CEO suite

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