Citi Appoints APAC CEO

Citi names its new Asia Pacific CEO six months after the departure of the former regional chief.

Peter Babej has been named as chief executive officer of Asia Pacific, succeeding Francisco Aristeguieta who left in April and was replaced in the interim by Tim Monger who will return to solely focus on his CFO role.

Babej joined Citi in 2010 as its co-head of the financial institutions group within its institutional client group before becoming the unit’s sole head in 2017. Previously, Babej held multiple senior roles at Deutsche Bank and Lazard.

According to the bank, Babej’s deep financial knowledge and dealmaking experience, especially with regards to digital adoption, will serve Citi well given rapid growth in the market.

Under Peter’s leadership, the Citi has participated in some of the most significant transactions in the sector, including several Asia-driven mergers and acquisitions, said Citigroup CEO Mike Corbat, highlighting marque deals such as the $14 billion fundraisings for Ant Financial.

In the first nine months of 2019, Citi’s APAC unit posted a net income of $3.91b, accounting for 27 percent of the global sum.