Nagpur-born Vikram Pandit may have taken over as the CEO of Citigroup in the middle of its worst crisis, but his father feels he will revive the fortunes of the world’s largest financial services conglomerate.
“Whatever he touched turned into gold. I am confident that this methodic approach in life would help him in his greatest challenge of life today as the head of world’s largest bank,” Vikram’s father S B Pandit said.
“Vikram was destined to succeed. He has been a brilliant student throughout and also possesses a steely resolve. He is a go-getter. Instead of bowing under any problem, he would go all out to find a solution,” he said.
Fifty-year old Vikram Pandit, who had his schooling in Nagpur, Mumbai and Baroda before moving to the US, was appointed the chief executive officer of Citigroup on Wednesday.
The conglomerate is going through a bad phase with losses of about 11 billion dollars in the US subprime crisis. Confident of his son’s success in his new and challenging assignment, Pandit said: “He has an analytical mind. He won’t ever get perturbed by problems. Instead, he would jot down the pros and cons of the issue. He would resort to lateral thinking and then come up with a workable solution.”
This approach was the main reason that led his rise up the ladder of success at such a young age, he said. Pandit was delighted that Vikram was the youngest CEO of the company and first Indian to achieve this feat.
“Such a huge responsibility is given only to capable people. His current job is being touted as the toughest in the world. But it is his humility and self-belief that has and will help him tide over all tough moments,” he said.
