Head of Institutional Credit Management - ICM

Executive Summary and Role Purpose 

The Head of Institutional Credit Management (ICM) is a critical Managing Director (C16) level executive role reporting directly to the Chief Client Officer, who is a member of Citi's Executive Management Team. This pivotal leadership position is responsible for competitively positioning Citi by driving the development, execution, and continuous optimisation of an end-to-end wholesale credit underwriting and management platform. The incumbent will serve as an execution-oriented leader, ensuring that the highest quality control standards for wholesale credit analysis and portfolio monitoring are consistently met across the enterprise. By establishing and monitoring critical production and control metrics, the Head of ICM will drive credit and portfolio actions, and safeguard the firm's capital while enabling business growth. 

Organisational Context and Mission 

Operating within Citi’s Client Organisation, Institutional Credit Management consists of a global workforce of approximately 3,000 professionals. The Client Organisation is dedicated to empowering client growth through a deep, anticipatory understanding of client needs, using the full breadth of Citi's global product capabilities. Within this framework, ICM serves as a best-in-class, first-line-of-defence (in-business) organisation. The mission of ICM is to deliver a seamless, end-to-end wholesale credit management platform in close, collaborative partnership with Citi's lines of business, independent risk management, and key corporate functions. This ensures a unified, firmwide approach to client strategy, segmentation, and coverage, delivering consistent, high-quality services in all geographies. 

Strategic Leadership and Transformation 

As a global leader, the Head of ICM must possess a sophisticated global perspective and a strategic mindset capable of translating future market possibilities into breakthrough organisational strategies. The role demands the ability to lead large-scale, cross-border teams, taking a holistic and broad view when addressing systemic issues. The incumbent will drive growth and lead transformation by anticipating future shifts in financial markets, navigating evolving regulatory landscapes with agility, and guiding the organisation through rapid technological advancements. This includes nurturing a culture of adaptability and continuous innovation, actively identifying future skill gaps, and providing robust reskilling opportunities to ensure the workforce remains competitive and future ready. A key aspect of this leadership will involve effectively managing a large team, fostering a high-performance culture, and ensuring alignment with the strategic objectives and growth aspirations of Citi's wholesale businesses. 

Stakeholder Management and Collaboration 

Effective stakeholder management and deep collaboration are central to the success of this role. The Head of ICM is also responsible for managing interactions with external stakeholders, including government bodies, regulatory agencies, and clients. Internally, the incumbent must build strong partnerships and interact regularly on complex credit and risk issues with the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Management Team (EMT), and cross-franchise leaders. By instilling trust through honesty, integrity, and authenticity, the Head of ICM will balance the competing needs of multiple stakeholders, lead senior-level client relationships, and negotiations, and foster significant cross-business and cross-functional alignment to meet shared corporate objectives. 

Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance and Crisis Response 

A primary responsibility of the Head of ICM is the rigorous management of credit risk and the adherence to firm policies and regulatory standards. The incumbent will be personally responsible for addressing, managing, and successfully discharging material regulatory requirements. This requires maintaining a high level of constructive engagement with global regulators and demonstrating a proven ability to collaborate effectively with internal control functions, such as Internal Audit and Fundamental Credit Risk (FCR), as well as external auditors. Furthermore, the Head of ICM must possess deep event and crisis management expertise to guide the organisation through complex geopolitical events, business continuity disruptions, cybersecurity threats, and data privacy challenges, ensuring operational resilience under pressure. The Head of ICM will also work closely with the second line of defence Risk function to ensure all operations are in accordance with wholesale credit policies, thereby driving consistency and robustness in the credit management framework. 

Functional Expertise, Technology and Credit Workflow Systems 

Effectively to lead a modern credit management platform, the Head of ICM must possess excellent technology skills and a deep, practical understanding of credit workflow systems. The role requires a sophisticated grasp of evolving technology trends, including the integration of real-time data feeds for dynamic risk monitoring and the implementation of predictive modeling for risk forecasting. Under the incumbent's leadership, ICM will drive innovation in credit management processes and systems, offering credit capabilities powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning. By collaborating with business and technology partners to implement solutions, using advanced analytics for predictive credit insights, and enhancing cybersecurity measures, the Head of ICM will capitalise on opportunities for disruptive change to maintain Citi's competitive advantage. Furthermore, a critical focus will be on driving operational efficiencies and achieving operational leverage, ensuring the ICM platform can effectively support increasing business volumes and evolving wholesale lending activities. 

The ideal candidate will be a highly effective and distinguished business leader with a minimum of 15 years of risk or risk-related credit work experience within major global banking or financial institutions. This extensive background must reflect deep knowledge of wholesale credit portfolios, credit workflow systems, and a proven track record of executing monitoring strategies and priorities across diverse lines of business and geographies. The candidate must demonstrate strong ethics, unwavering integrity, and the courage to address difficult issues transparently and in a timely manner. Exceptional decision-making capabilities under pressure and tight timelines are essential, complemented by outstanding verbal and written communication skills and the ability to deliver compelling presentations to senior executives, board members, and regulatory authorities.