Usman Ahmed to lead Citi Malaysia as CEO in February

Citi said Usman Ahmed would leverage on the banking group’s global strengths and further enhance its position as a leading bank and employer of choice.

KUALA LUMPUR: Usman Ahmed will lead Citi Malaysia as its chief executive officer with effect from Feb 1 next year.

In a statement issued on Wednesday to announce the appointment, Citi said Usman will be responsible for leading the country team and protecting the Malaysia franchise.

Citi said he would leverage on the banking group’s global strengths and further enhance its position as a leading bank and employer of choice.

“He will also have oversight of the Citi solutions centers in Malaysia. He will report directly to Amol Gupte, Asean head, Citi, ” it said.

In his 21 years with Citi, Usman has held a range of senior leadership roles in Bahrain, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Philippines, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Currently, he is the Citi country officer and corporate bank head, Bahrain; global head of Islamic banking and cluster head of Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

Citi said he managed the full spectrum of its institutional clients group and onsumer franchises, including the cluster support centres based inc Bahrain.

Commenting on Usman’s appointment, Gupte said: “I am confident that the diversity and depth of Usman’s experience across franchise leadership, in corporate and investment banking as well as Islamic banking will prove valuable to our strategic growth plans in Malaysia.

“We have a strong footprint here and Citi remains the leading bank for cross border transactions, serving clients with regional and international business operations.”

Citi has been in Malaysia since 1959 and has a workforce of close to 5,000 employees.

The Citi solutions centres, located in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, support Citi operations in over 50 countries.