Andy Sieg is quickly shaking up Citi’s wealth business. At least 21 senior execs have left since his arrival.

Citi shed 7,000 employees in the first quarter of the year. But the leadership of its ailing wealth unit is continuing to undergo major changes under its new boss Andy Sieg.

Citi’s wealth unit has seen at least 21 senior executives exit since Merrill Lynch veteran Sieg joined in September. The latest is Julia Carreon, global head of wealth platform and experiences. Thirteen of the 21 ex-employees had worked at Citi for at least 15 years. These veterans include three of Sieg’s direct reports, such as Naz Vahid, head of the fastest-growing division within Citi Wealth that caters to rich law firm partners and other executives.

Carreon wrote in a LinkedIn post that she quit in early June to co-found a menopause wellness company. Chief investment officer David Bailin, who departed in May, announced that he planned to focus his “entrepreneurial spirit” on investment issues facing family offices. Most of the other departing executives have not disclosed their reasons for leaving, and only one exit was characterized as a retirement. These changes come as Citi has undergone a restructuring that reduced the number of management levels to 8 from 13.

Sieg’s mandate is to turn around the wealth business, which was barely profitable in the first quarter of this year.

“Growing wealth is a core pillar of our strategy and will improve our business mix by adding more fee-based revenue and drive improved returns,” Fraser said when Sieg’s hire was announced in March 2023. “In my conversations with Andy, it is clear to him that our team is on a mission to transform Citi — and he is highly driven and motivated to play a central role in our firm’s leadership.”

One of Sieg’s priorities is to convince more clients to let Citi manage their investments. These fees would reduce the division’s reliance on revenue from deposits and loans. Bankers who aren’t bringing in enough investment assets from clients have to step it up, chief financial officer Mark Mason said on a recent earnings call.

“There will be a need for us to continue to invest and replenish low-performing or low-producing bankers and advisors with resources that actually can generate the revenues we expect and take advantage of the client opportunity that’s in front of us,” he said.

Sieg also plans to expand Citi’s already successful wealth business in Asia. He upholds the bank’s reputation among rich customers in Asian capitals such as Hong Kong and Singapore as an example for the rest of the division.

Despite this success, Asian executives have also left the firm amid the upheaval. In February, Sieg attended the ribbon cutting for two new wealth hubs in Singapore for clients with at least $1 million in assets. One month later, Shyam Sambamurthy, the Asia South region head whose purview included Singapore, resigned after 36 years at Citi. At least five other senior Asia executives have left.

Sieg installed his former colleague from Merrill, Don Plaus, when the private bank’s North American head, Hale Behzadi, retired in March. He has also hired Dawn Nordberg to lead client referral efforts between the investment bank and wealth division. Nordberg, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley, will officially join Citi in September.