Citi's Pandit Raises Doubts, as Bank Nears Breakup

Robert Druskin, a longtime Citi executive and the former COO, left shortly after Pandit's appointment. Last Friday, senior adviser and director Robert Rubin, who has endured criticism for his role in encouraging Citi's involvement in the type of risky assets that helped lead to its undoing, said he was quitting his post and not seeking re-election to the board.

"Historically, investment bankers were not known for creating great leadership talent, rather they created great dealmakers," says Carter Burgess, a managing director and head of board recruiting at RSR Partners in Greenwich, Conn. "That's the world he comes from."

"I'm not sure if he's CEO material," Burgess says, referring to the ability to communicate effectively, to "walk the halls and get the team behind him," to have a clear strategic vision and the ability to delegate responsibility, he says.

Pandit's wavering of strategic vision for Citi is "endemic of someone that may not have the skill set," he says.

Burgess says the same goes for Citi's directors, where the likes of big-league names such as Parsons, Alain Belda of Alcoa (AA Quote), Anne Mulcahy of Xerox (XRX Quote) and Andrew Liveris of Dow Chemical (DOW Quote), sit on the board.

In terms of the independent directors, few -- if any -- truly understand Citi's business, Burgess says. Financial services is "really something to get your arms around," he says.

Besides Rubin, Burgess and others say that more of Citi's board members will change over before the repositioning is complete.