Douchebag Executives: Winfried Bischoff

Welcome to a new feature here on my blog entitled Douchebag Executives. With each entry I'll profile an executive of a publically traded company who deserves the dubious honor of being labeled a douchebag.

Today, I would like to introduce you to the Chairman of the Board of Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Sir Winfried Bischoff. He's a douchebag AND a knight.

Last year Sir Bischoff earned a reported compensation of $6,130,390 USD. The key word there, is "reported". (This being the first in my feature of Douchebag Executives, let me say that I am a firm believer of pulling in whatever you can make, more power to you. I start to have a problem when this compensation rides on the backs of the shareholders and it's not being earned.) By any measure, he is a rich man. His executive resume is long and storied as well. Citigroup is not the only place Sir Bischoff has left his mark.

Sir Winfried Bischoff is Chairman of the Board of Citigroup Inc. He was Acting Chief Executive Officer; Chairman, Citigroup Europe of Citigroup Inc. He is a Member of the Citigroup Management and Operating Committees. Sir Win joined Citigroup Finance Division of J. Henry Schroder & Co. Limited, London, in 1966. In 1971, he was appointed Managing Director of Schroders Asia Limited, Hong Kong. He returned to London in January 1983 and was appointed Chairman of J. Henry Schroder & Co. in October 1983 and Group Chief Executive of Schroders plc in December 1984. Sir Win was appointed Chairman of Schroders plc in May 1995. Following the acquisition of Schroders’ investment banking business by Salomon Smith Barney, Inc., a subsidiary of Citigroup Inc., he assumed his present position in May 2000. He was a non-executive Director of Cable and Wireless plc from 1991-2003 and subsequently Deputy Chairman (1995-2003). His other non-executive directorships included IFIL - Finanziaria di Partecipazioni SpA, Italy (1999-2004) and Siemens Holdings Plc (2001-2003). Currently he is a Non-Executive Director of The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York, and of Land Securities plc since October 1999, and of Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, since June 2000. After early education in Cologne and Dusseldorf, Germany, he moved to South Africa in 1955 and obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (1959-61). From 1962 to 1963 he was attached to the International Department of The Chase Manhattan Bank in New York He was awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours list in 2000, a Doctorate in Science, Honoris Causa, from City University in May 2000 and, in June 2001, was made a Johnson Honorary Fellow of St Anne’s College Oxford. He became Chairman of the UK Academy Foundation (2000-present) and was a Trustee of the Royal House Opera Covent Garden (2000-2003).

-Source

Maybe, he was an easy target in light of recent news.

The banking giant Citigroup, which a decade ago set out to rewrite the rules of American finance [emphasis added], announced Monday morning that it would cut 50,000 jobs in the coming quarters, largely by selling assets.

Even if you are not a Christian, this is the holiday season. It is a time of year celebrated by almost every developed nation on the planet. What a better way to say Merry Christmas, et al. than to hand someone a pink slip. Sir Bischoff is not alone in the blame, Vikram Pandit should probably catch some shrapnel for this as well, but I want to the keep the focus narrow at this time. Some might argue that this move was inevitable given the present financial climate, and the economy as whole. However, let us not forget Citigroup's dubious role in the whole subprime lending debacle.

In the largest consumer protection settlement in FTC history, Citigroup Inc. will pay $215 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission charges that Associates First Capital Corporation and Associates Corporation of North America (The Associates) engaged in systematic and widespread deceptive and abusive lending practices. Citigroup acquired The Associates in November 2000, and merged The Associates' consumer finance operations into its subsidiary, CitiFinancial Credit Company. The settlement is contingent on approval of the federal district court in Atlanta and approval of a related settlement in a class action lawsuit currently pending in California. If approved, the FTC and class action settlements together will provide $240 million in redress to consumers throughout the United States and its territories.

"The Commission will not tolerate the fleecing of subprime borrowers through deceptive lending practices such as the packing of unwanted credit insurance on consumers' loans," said Timothy J. Muris, Chairman of the FTC. "As a result of this settlement, as many as two million consumers will receive significant monetary relief in the form of cash refunds or reduced loan balances. I am pleased that Citigroup has agreed to remedy the grave injury caused by The Associates and that Citigroup has announced new measures at CitiFinancial aimed at preventing these kinds of problems. If fully implemented, these are positive steps in an industry that for too long has been plagued by deception and abuse. We will be looking to ensure that the law is obeyed."

Sir Bischoff stepped in to the role as Chairman on 12/7/2007. Under his tutelage, the share price has gone from $34.31 to, as of this writing, $9.17. Impressive, that under his watch the company has been devalued almost %375 and he still has a job. The quick and easy answer to saving money is always to eliminate headcount. In this case, it's 50,000 of Citigroup's hard working employees.

Maybe they should start at the top next time and find someone who knows how to make Citigroup some money. No bailouts for the foolish.