Citizens Financial Group
Leadership Team
Executive Committee
Ellen Alemany
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and RBS Americas
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 Ellen Alemany is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and RBS Americas. RBS Americas is the North and South American operations and subsidiaries of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc. She also is a member of RBS’s Executive Committee, the RBS Group’s nine-member executive leadership team.
RBS Americas includes Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (operating as Citizens Bank, Charter One, RBS Card Services, RBS Asset Finance and RBS WorldPay, a U.S. merchant transaction-processing subsidiary); RBS Global Banking & Markets Americas (including RBS Greenwich Capital and RBS Sempra Commodities); Global Transaction Services Americas (including RBS’s Cash Management, Commercial Cards, Payment Services and Trade Services); and RBS Citizens Business Services (the company's operations, technology and properties division).
In August 2009, Forbes magazine ranked Alemany 57th on its annual list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women. In October 2009, Alemany was ranked 17th on U.S. Banker's list of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking.
She joined RBS Americas in June 2007 from Citigroup, where she had been CEO for Global Transaction Services (GTS), one of Citi’s 12 publicly reported product lines.
Alemany joined Citibank in 1987 and held various progressive positions. They included Executive Vice President for the Commercial Business Group, President and CEO of CitiCapital and Executive Vice President and Customer Group Executive for the Global Relationship Bank in Europe. She began her banking career at Chase Manhattan Bank in 1977, working in Operations, Structured Trade, and the Media and Electronics Department as a Senior Lender.
Alemany earned her M.B.A. with a specialization in finance from Fordham University in 1980. She is chairman of the boards of directors of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and RBS Citizens, N.A., and a member of the boards of directors of The Financial Services Roundtable and The Clearing House Payments Company, a world leader in the payments business that provides payment services for check, electronic check, ACH and wire transfers. She is the First District Representative on the Federal Advisory Council, directly consulting with and advising the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Martin Bischoff
Vice Chairman, Consumer and Business Banking,
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Martin Bischoff is Vice Chairman in charge of Consumer and Business Banking at Citizens Financial Group. Bischoff is responsible for Retail Banking, which is comprised of more than 1,600 Citizens Bank and Charter One traditional and in-store branches; Business Banking, which has approximately 400 business banking officers serving small businesses in 12 states; CCO Investment Services; and Corporate Marketing, which includes advertising, brand management and product development. Bischoff joined CFG from the Royal Bank of Scotland Group where his career was spent primarily in the Retail Bank in a variety of senior roles, most recently as Managing Director of NatWest and RBS Branch Networks. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and has progressed through Executive Development Programs at Harvard and INSEAD Business Schools.
David Bowerman
Vice Chairman, RBS Citizens Business Services
David Bowerman is Vice Chairman in charge of RBS Citizens Business Services with responsibility across RBS's North and South American entities. RBS Citizens Business Services is RBS's "engine room," supplying systems and support in areas including operations, technology, property and purchasing. Previously, Bowerman was Managing Director, U.K. & European Operations with overall responsibility for eight Business Services operations across multiple geographic locations, and 21,000 staff who support RBS's income-generating divisions. Bowerman originally joined the NatWest Bank in 1982 and has since undertaken a range of Retail and Corporate roles, all of which have enabled him to gain extensive experience and build a wide portfolio of successes in driving and implementing significant cultural change and organizational strategies.
Brad L. Conner
Vice Chairman, Consumer Finance, Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Brad Conner is Vice Chairman, Consumer Finance at Citizens Financial Group. He is in charge of the company's residential lending, national auto finance, consumer credit card services and student finance businesses. With nearly 25 years of management experience in financial services, Conner has an impressive track record of success in leading consumer finance businesses, including mortgage, home equity and student finance. Before joining CFG in June 2008, he was President of JP Morgan Chase & Co.'s Home Equity and Mortgage Home Loan Direct business, headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz. He previously oversaw the combined home equity business of JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank One after the companies merged in 2004, and served as CEO of Chase's Education Finance businesses. Conner, a native of St. Louis, has a B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Arkansas.
Jay Cook
Chief Risk Officer, Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
and RBS Americas
Jay Cook is responsible for the RBS Americas’ Basel Program, Risk Analytics capability and Risk Reporting teams. Cook joined RBS Americas from Citigroup where he most recently served as head of the Risk Projects and Analysis group for the Global Wealth Management business with responsibility for Basel II project management and implementation, risk capital and loan loss calculation and risk reporting. Cook had joined Citigroup’s Risk Architecture group in 2000 and was responsible for Risk Reporting before assuming additional responsibility for Credit and Operational Risk Analytics. Prior to Citigroup, he was a Managing Director and Head of Counterparty Risk Management at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce where he was also a member of the Credit Derivatives and Credit Investment Product teams responsible for management of the U.S. loan portfolio.
Barbara S. Cottam
Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Affairs
Barbara Cottam is Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Affairs. Cottam is in charge of directing media and public relations, government affairs and public policy, corporate giving, internal communications and marketing sponsorships throughout the company's commercial and retail banking footprint. She joined Citizens in 1994 as Rhode Island Director of Public Affairs after 12 years in senior policy and communications positions in state and municipal government in Rhode Island. She was Director of Communications and Press Secretary to Gov. Bruce Sundlun from 1991 to 1994. Cottam is a member of the Rhode Island Commodores, a group of top business and civic leaders appointed by the governor. She chairs the Providence College President's Council and serves as a member of the strategic planning committee of the college's board of trustees. Cottam is a former vice chairwoman and present member of the board of directors of Home and Hospice Care of Rhode Island and a member of the board of directors of the Rhode Island Zoo Society. She served as a founding member of the board of directors of Rhode Island Kids Count for 10 years, the last three as chairwoman. A graduate of Providence College, Cottam received a bachelor of science, double majoring in business marketing and business management.
John Fawcett
Chief Financial Officer, Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
and RBS Americas
John Fawcett is Chief Financial Officer for RBS Americas and Citizens Financial Group, Inc. He is responsible for creating the financial framework and functional organization to support the development and expansion of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group’s businesses in North America and Latin America. Fawcett’s functional responsibilities include financial planning and analysis, financial reporting, accounting policy, tax, treasury and the establishment of a capital resource allocation model. He also has administrative oversight role for internal audit activities in RBS Americas. He works with senior colleagues to provide financial leadership in determining strategic business direction as well as financial strategies and synergies for the entire RBS Americas footprint. Fawcett joined RBS Americas from Citigroup, where he most recently served as Chief Financial Officer for the Global Transaction Services business. Fawcett has a B.S. in accounting and an M.B.A. in finance from St. John’s University. He also is a CPA.
Sheldon Goldfarb
Chief Legal Officer, Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
General Counsel, RBS Americas
Sheldon Goldfarb is Chief Legal Officer for Citizens Financial Group and General Counsel for RBS Americas. In that role he is the chief legal advisor for RBS businesses in the Americas. He provides strategic leadership to the management of legal risk and oversees an integrated legal function of 70+ lawyers for RBS in North and South America. Prior to joining RBS Americas, Goldfarb was General Counsel and Secretary of RBS Greenwich Capital, a position he held since 1994. He was responsible for RBSGC’s Legal, Compliance, Government Relations and Corporate Communications functions. He is chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (SIFMA), General Counsel’s Committee; past president of the SEC Alumni Association; served on the Executive Committee, and as treasurer, of the SIFMA Compliance and Legal Division; and was a member of the board of trustees of the SEC Historical Society. He is also a member of the investment committee of the Binghamton University Foundation. Goldfarb is a frequent speaker at industry-wide conferences on compliance and legal issues. Goldfarb earned his B.A. from Binghamton University and a J.D. cum Laude from Syracuse University College of Law.
Robert Matthews
Vice Chairman, Commercial Banking, Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Robert Matthews is Vice Chairman of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. with responsibility for the company's Commercial Banking business lines: Commercial Markets, Commercial Finance and Commercial Real Estate Finance. Prior to assuming his current position, Matthews was a member of the RBS Americas leadership team and oversaw the Mid-Corporate relationship banking effort. He joined RBS Americas in September 2007 from Citigroup where he was Executive Vice President and Head of U.S. Commercial and Middle Market Banking. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard College in 1985 with an emphasis on labor relations and bargaining behavior.
Evelyn Tressitt
Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer
Evelyn Tressitt is responsible for all aspects of human resources including organizational development; compensation and benefits; colleague evaluation and performance management; and overall strategic resource planning in the North American and Latin American businesses of RBS, one of the world's largest banks. Tressitt joined RBS in November 2007 from U.S. Trust Company, where she was Executive Vice President of Human Resources. Prior to joining U.S. Trust in March 2006, Tressitt was Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for the U.S. Region of Deutsche Asset Management. Her responsibilities included strategic planning, business management, and driving results in key operating areas. She developed and implemented Achieving Profitable Growth, a program that achieved more than $100 million in bottom-line improvements. Tressitt began her career with Citibank where she held increasingly more responsible human resources leadership roles across both consumer and corporate banking businesses. She earned a B.A. in human resources management from DePaul University.
Prabhat Vira
Head of Global Transaction Services Americas
Prabhat Vira is Head of Global Transaction Services (GTS) Americas. He is responsible for delivering the full range of global and domestic transaction services capabilities (treasury management, payments, trade finance, merchant services and commercial cards) to clients across all segments of the commercial marketplace in the United States, Canada and Latin America. Vira also is a member of the GTS Executive Committee at RBS.
Before becoming head of GTS Americas in August 2009, Vira was Head of GTS Solutions International, responsible for delivering cash solutions to GTS Americas' Global Banking and Markets (GBM)/ Large Corporate client segment across North America and Latin America, as well as managing Trade Finance sales and product efforts.
Vira has an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from BITS, India.
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