A rising star at Citigroup

We've become accustomed to the idea of Vikram Pandit on the hot seat. A lot of people are surprised he has lasted this long as CEO of Citigroup (C). Whether you believe he's got a long career ahead of him at the beleaguered bank, it's a good idea in general these days to worry about succession.

Can Manuel Medina-Mora rise to CEO someday? He's getting the star treatment in the press. The Wall Street Journal put him on the map with a nice profile. His ambitions are certainly well known. He has told colleagues that he would like to ascend to the top job. In fact, he felt he was passed over for the top job due to a kind of regional bias.

He will certainly get the opportunity to prove himself. After running the Latin American operations for years, he will assume the reins of the global consumer banking franchise, which looms large strategically. According to the article, Medina Mora sought some conditions upon taking the job. Chief among them, he "insisted that he be allowed to run the business as he sees fit without interference from other executives." We'll see how this turns out. He's not part of Pandit's inner circle apparently. That could be a blessing or a curse. 

For more:
- here's the article 

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