Citi Private Bank reveals key appointments in Asia Pacific

Rudolf Hitsch has been appointed North Asia head, Jyrki Rauhio as South Asia head, and Akbar Shah as head of business development at Citi Private Bank.

These appointments follow the recent announcement of Bassam Salem’s retirement and the appointment of Steven Lo as regional head. They will report to Steven Lo starting February 1, 2018.

Commenting on the appointments, Steven said, “The Private Bank has been one of the fastest growing businesses for Citi in Asia in the last few quarters and one of the best performing private banking businesses for Citi globally this year. This new organizational structure will bring new value and synergy to the business, align us better with clients in the region, increase our focus on key markets, and help bring us to the next phase of growth.”

Rudolf Hitsch, who currently heads the offshore Private Bank business with clients from China and Taiwan, will add on coverage for Hong Kong in his new role as North Asia head. A seasoned financial services professional, Rudolf has more than 18 years of experience in the China market. In his expanded responsibility for Taiwan two years ago, Rudolf successfully restructured the business making it one of our fastest growing businesses in Asia.

Jyrki Rauhio, who is currently the head of investment finance for the Private Bank in Asia, will have coverage for ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand, and Global India in his new role. He has worked at Citi for the past 23 years in a number of markets and in various relationship and franchise management roles around the world, initially within Corporate and Investment Banking and with the Private Bank for the past seven years. Jyrki will also have a matrix reporting line into Amol Gupte, ASEAN head and CEO for Citi Singapore, for his ASEAN responsibilities.

In his new role, Akbar Shah will be responsible for client acquisition and the establishment of the Asia Pacific Advisory Board, which will become an important source of strategic guidance and client engagement for the business in the region. Akbar has had a substantial career within Citi and in the relationship and wealth management business spanning 30 years.

The current global market manager for ASEAN Jessica Poh will report to Jyrki Rauhio, and will be responsible for developing new and deepening mega-wealth client relationships within the South Asia region. Jessica is an industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in banking and finance.