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| Vikram Pandit |
"Vikram Pandit exemplifies creative and responsible leadership in times of extraordinary change," Wharton Dean Thomas S. Robertson said. "His deep love of learning, his commitment to innovation at Citi and his perspective on the trends shaping the global financial services landscape make him the ideal person to address our MBA graduates at this moment in economic history."
Since December 2007, Mr. Pandit has led Citi, one of the world's leading financial services companies, which does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions and has approximately 200 million customer accounts. As CEO, Mr. Pandit has led a structural and financial transformation of the firm during the most challenging economic environment since the Great Depression.
Born in India, Mr. Pandit moved to the United States at age 16. He enrolled in Columbia University, earning B.S. and M.S. degrees in Engineering, an M.B.A. and a Ph.D. in Finance. Early in his career he was a finance professor at Indiana University.
In 1983, Mr. Pandit joined Morgan Stanley, ultimately rising to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer of the company's institutional securities and investment banking businesses. Mr. Pandit left Morgan Stanley to become a founding member and chairman of the members' committee of Old Lane, LP. When Old Lane was acquired by Citi in 2007, Mr. Pandit became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citi Alternative Investments. He later led Citi's Institutional Clients Group, and in December 2007, was named CEO of Citi.
Upon his appointment, Mr. Pandit embarked on a plan to refocus, recapitalize and restructure Citi. He has made Responsible Finance a priority and has taken the company's historic core strengths of serving clients and supporting economic growth and focused them on the biggest market opportunities.
Previous Wharton MBA graduation speakers have included Muhammad Yunus, Connie Duckworth, Lakshmi N. Mittal and Alan Greenspan. Information about the University of Pennsylvania's 255th commencement ceremony is available at: www.upenn.edu/commencement.
About the Wharton School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania -- founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school -- is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. The most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world, Wharton bridges research and practice through its broad engagement with the global business community. The School has more than 4,800 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of 86,000 graduates.
Sources: http://www.stockhouse.com
