Vikram Pandit spoke with Bloomberg Television’s Erik Schatzker in his first interview following his departure as CEO of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C).
Vikram Pandit told Schatzker, “This was decided yesterday afternoon. I made the decision. I talked to [Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Chairman] Mr. O’Neill. I don’t believe in having lame-duck sessions, in having the outgoing CEO looking over the shoulder of the incoming CEO.”
Video and highlights below:
Pandit on whether he was pressured out of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C):
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. It was my decision. I made it talking to Mr. O’Neill, and we did it understanding that the company was ready.
On what he could have done differently:
“It’s hard to come up with things we should have done differently. I was first out of the box to raise capital. I feel very good about the decisions that we’ve made.”
“The job was about transformation and turnaround, and we’ve done the turnaround.”
“There are always bumps in the road. But the real issue to me is look at the five-year track record. It was never going to be a straight line.”
