Citi has appointed Aftab Ahmed as Citi Country Officer for the Philippines, effective July 15, 2015. Ahmed replaces Batara Sianturi, who is moving to Citi Indonesia to serve as Country Head.
Ahmed will assume his new role upon regulatory approvals, and will be responsible for all Citi businesses across the franchise in the Philippines. He will report to Michael Zink, Head of ASEAN and Citi Country Officer for Singapore. This will be Ahmed’s third CCO and Country Head appointment in his nearly four decade international career with Citi.
Commenting on the appointment, Michael Zink said: “The Philippines is an important market for Citi and we are pleased to welcome Aftab as the new country head. As a 39-year veteran Citibanker, he has vast experience in banking around the world and will play a critical role in protecting and leading the Citi franchise in the Philippines. Aftab will also be a great addition to the ASEAN leadership team.”
Ahmed is currently the CCO for Citi Hungary and concurrently Region Head for Hungary and the Balkan and Baltic Regions in Central & Eastern Europe. Prior to this, he was CCO for Citi Egypt.
He has worked for Citi in 10 countries across North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. His broad breadth of experience covers multiple disciplines including Business Banking, Corporate Banking, Correspondent Banking, Consumer Banking, Distribution, Operation & Technology (O&T), and Treasury.
Ahmed has held a number of senior roles at Citi on the country level including Consumer Business Manager for Pakistan, Corporate Bank Head in New Zealand, and O&T head for Citibank in both Taiwan and Germany. He has also held senior cluster and regional roles including Director of Retail Branch Expansion & Operations for Citibank North America, Consumer Finance Head for Asia Pacific, and Consumer Cluster Head for Pakistan, Middle East and Egypt.
He started his career with Citi as an Executive Trainee after getting an MBA from Tulane University in New Orleans, U.S.A.
Citi has been present in the Philippines since 1902. It is the largest foreign bank in the country, and is consistently ranked among the top 10 commercial banks. With over 7,000 employees, Citi serves the public sector, top-tier local corporates, multinationals, financial institutions and affluent consumers through its corporate and consumer banking businesses. It is also the pioneer in business process outsourcing, and Citi Philippines is home to a growing hub of Citi Service Centers that provide voice and non-voice services to Citi affiliates, subsidiaries and branches in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, North America and Latin America regions.