New Citigroup head beat the odds

By car, the trip from the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn to the glittering corporate towers of Manhattan can be made in a matter of minutes. But that hardly describes the distance.

Bensonhurst, filmgoers may remember, was the grim workingclass area where John Travolta strutted his snugly clothed stuff in Saturday Night Fever. The great drama of the movie was whether a boy from Bensonhurst could break free from the old neighbourhood and make a life amid Manhattan's bright lights.

Last week, a true son of Bensonhurst, Sandy Weill of Bay 26th Street, did just that, dancing past the competition to snag the sole position atop Citigroup, the world's biggest financial services company. Room was cleared for him by the announcement that John Reed would retire as co-chairman and co-chief executive of Citigroup, which was formed by the October 1998 merger of Mr Reed's Citicorp and Mr Weill's Travelers. "You never bet against Sandy Weill," says Peter Solomon, a former vice-chairman of Shearson Lehman Brothers, which was once part of Mr Weill's financial services empire. "He always wanted to be king of the world."

Mr Weill is getting close. Long one of America's most well-rewarded corporate executives, this king makes his presence felt in New York life by holding court at the Four Seasons restaurant, the city's foremost power-lunching spot.

Signs of Mr Weill's beneficence abound. The medical school at Cornell University, where he received his undergraduate degree, bears his and his wife Joan's names. There is also a Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, where he has chaired the board of trustees since 1991.

With the Citigroup merger, Mr Weill assumed a starring role on the world stage, although not without some difficulty. Mr Weill and his Travelers team have needed time to adjust to the global nature of their new company. In recent weeks, Citigroup has revamped its management structure to give more emphasis to geographical responsibilities.

Mr Reed's departure also recognises the fact that it is difficult for two powerful chiefs to work alongside each other. From next month, Mr Weill will be the sole chairman and chief executive. "I do think there came a time, when it was better to have unified management," says Mr Reed. "It worked well. We got things done. No one said it was smooth and easy."

But just as Mr Weill has reached the pinnacle of corporate power, the pressure is growing on him to find a corporate heir. Mr Weill will turn 67 in March. Working with the Citigroup board, Mr Weill has agreed on a two-year search for a successor as leader of the financial conglomerate. His plan is to have a new chief executive in place in two years. But if the search fails to turn up a suitable replacement at Citigroup, he could stay on longer. Indeed, the final struggle of Mr Weill's career could be learning how to let go. It will not be easy. "He is 67 like other people are 20," says Mr Joseph Plumeri, a longtime Weill lieutenant, who retired last year as head of Citigroup's North American banking operations. "He's very passionate about what he does."

Starting as a $35-a-week clerk at Bear Stearns in 1955, Mr Weill went on to buy several prestigious but ailing brokerages, eventually cobbling together the firm known as Shearson Loeb Rhoades. Mr Weill sold out to American Express in 1981, but chafed in his role as a subordinate to James Robinson and left the company in 1985 only to regroup and create Travelers.

Mr Solomon, who now runs his own firm, says: "Sandy has had the best sense of where the financial world is going of almost anyone I know, the ability to hang around and learn about things and wait for a good opportunity."

Mr Weill's focus on the bottom line is unrelenting. Introducing President Bill Clinton at a New York appearance in January, Mr Weill concluded his remarks by thanking the commander in chief for among other things "my net worth". Mr Weill's love of numbers is so strong he prepared the Travelers earnings reports as recently as 1995, says Heidi Miller, the Citigroup chief financial officer who is quitting this month to move to Priceline.com, the Internet sales site. "He used to do it all by himself," Ms Miller says. "He is very detail- oriented."

Although demanding, he inspires loyalty among his subordinates. At Citigroup, one of the important differences between him and Mr Reed was that Mr Weill had an inner circle.

"He is as human and sensitive as anyone I know. He kisses me. He cries," Mr Plumeri said. "When my father died about a year and a half ago, Sandy was in Hong Kong. He flew back to go to my father's funeral."

But what Mr Weill lacks is a successor. He had one - Jamie Dimon but Mr Dimon was forced from Citigroup only days into the merger amid the market chaos that followed Russia's default. Robert Rubin, who joined Citigroup last October as a third member of what the company calls its office of the chairman, would certainly be qualified to succeed Mr Weill. But the former Treasury Secretary says he has no interest.

That leaves no obvious internal candidate, and Mr Weill has said there was no truth in speculation that Mr Dimon would return to the company. Long-time watchers of Mr Weill say it is hard to predict what he will do about the succession or a successor. He has been criticised for including too many "yes men" but he also has demonstrated self-confidence by recruiting as strong a presence as Mr Rubin.

Mr Weill even recently patched up his differences with Mr Dimon over a meal at the Four Seasons. "He picks a lot of different types of people a lot of good and a lot of bad people. He collects people," says Mr Solomon. "He's very capable of doing anything."