Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser was elected as chair of the board of directors, the bank said in a filing on Wednesday.
Fraser replaces John Dugan, who has been chair since 2019 and will now become lead independent director. The board also granted a one-time equity award of $25 million that will vest fully within five years, to ensure “leadership continuity,” according to the filing.
The board says Citi’s recent performance improvement “is directly tied to Fraser’s track record as CEO” and cites as accomplishments the international business divestitures, hiring new executives, simplifying the bank’s structure and making progress on regulatory issues.
Fraser’s new dual role as CEO and board chair is similar to the ones held by Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan Chase and Ted Pick at Morgan Stanley. She became Citi’s CEO in 2021.
In a statement, Dugan said “Citi is in a fundamentally different place than it was when these roles were separated.”
Fraser said in a statement the bank has shown it can grow returns to shareholders.
