Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup Vikram Pandit spoke at the World Leaders Forum Wednesday night in a speech that focused largely on necessary reforms in the financial sector.
Pandit, who was also tapped to speak at this year’s School of International and Public Affairs graduation, has proven to be a divisive figure. Some students said that in light of the recent economic crisis, a representative from the banking industry is an unsuitable pick, particularly for a school that teaches public policy.
Pandit sounded a call for financial reform in a speech that some audience members praised, though others said they found to be political. He focused on the changes he has instituted at Citigroup since becoming CEO in 2007 and the cultural and political changes he believes need to be instituted in the financial sector moving forward.
According to Pandit, since he became CEO, Citigroup has worked to regain its financial strength, rework its strategy, and, in a point Pandit emphasized repeatedly as crucial for the financial world as a whole, change its culture.
“I believe a strong culture of responsibility is a serious part of the answer,” Pandit said. He added, “Realistically, the goal is not to stop crises but to mitigate them and to have the tools necessary to effectively manage them.”
Though Pandit spoke extensively about specific issues and changes within Citigroup, he did not speak about companies. When one audience member asked for his view on the current Goldman Sachs hearings, he declined to comment.
University President Lee Bollinger added a more personal note in his own remarks, among which he stressed Columbia’s close ties to Pandit, who holds four degrees from the University and is a trustee. Bollinger also said he thought that while Pandit was CEO when the problems of the financial crises became apparent, he had “inherited” them.
“The problems Vikram inherited came to a head under his watch,” said Bollinger.
Audience reactions were mixed. “I thought it was brilliant,” Abigail Smith, BC ’13, said. She added that it was gratifying to attend a lecture and see principles from her economics class discussed.
“It’s a person with a unique vantage point,” remarked Michael Cohen, a faculty member at the medical school, who said he enjoyed hearing a global company leader speak.
But others were more skeptical.
“He said what he could say,” said Eli Perdomo, CC ’12, adding “It’s about trying to give an image to the bank after the crises.”
Tim Beckman, GSAS ’14, felt similarly, calling the speech a “publicity stunt.”
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