Longtime Citi veteran Mike Verdeschi has found a landing spot: He’s joining Charles Schwab.
Verdeschi will start Monday as managing director and deputy CFO at Schwab, the company said Thursday. At the same time, Schwab announced its current CFO, Peter Crawford, will retire after a planned transition period — though the company did not detail how long that period will last.
Schwab expects to appoint Verdeschi as CFO after that transition, the company said.
“A big thank you to the Schwab team for this exciting opportunity,” Verdeschi said Thursday in a LinkedIn post. “I'm looking forward to working with you all and continuing the important mission of helping clients build and manage their wealth.”
Citi announced in October that Verdeschi was leaving to pursue other opportunities. He joined the bank in 1990 and had served as treasurer since 2017.
Verdeschi is hardly the only 30-plus-year Citi veteran to be shifting around as the bank undergoes its largest reorganization in at least a decade and a half.
Citi last March named Anand Selva, a 32-year company veteran who led personal banking and wealth management, as its next chief operating officer.
Citi’s commercial-banking chief, Paco Ybarra, announced in August he would step down — though he’s still a senior adviser to the bank, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Citi tapped Peter Babej to replace Ybarra — temporarily — and gave him the title “head of banking.” But Babej, too, is expected to retire this year.
Titi Cole, Citi’s highest-profile Black woman executive — and the person in charge of the bank’s reorganization — herself said this week she would step down to become executive director at a nonprofit.
Verdeschi is expected to step in for Crawford, a 22-year fixture at Schwab who served as CFO there since 2017.
“Peter’s leadership has been central to Schwab’s evolution as one of the nation’s largest investment services firms. His deep understanding of our business and strategy has positioned us for continued, long-term success, and his willingness to remain with us to ensure a smooth transition is evidence of his leadership,” Walt Bettinger, Schwab’s co-chairman and CEO, said in a statement Thursday. “We are also fortunate to have a seasoned executive with Mike Verdeschi’s experience join us to lead our disciplined approach to financial and balance sheet management as we lay the groundwork for Schwab’s continued growth and success.”
Verdeschi will immediately assume responsibility for Schwab’s treasury and controller functions, as well as financial planning and analysis, the company said.
“As I begin this new chapter, I'd like to thank my many former Citi colleagues again for their great partnership and support over the years,” Verdeschi wrote Thursday on LinkedIn.
The CFO transition at Schwab comes as the company announced another executive move. Its chief operating officer, Joe Martinetto, will become executive chair of Schwab Banks, effective June 28, the company said.
