There was a shakeup in the highest echelons of fintech today as Citigroup announced Gavin Michael, head of digital at JPMorgan Chase, will join Citi as head of technology for global consumer banking.
This role encompasses the digitization efforts of Citi’s consumer businesses, the bank said today. That includes cards, retail banking and mortgage, commercial banking, and Citi Fintech, a mobile-first initiative whose CEO, Heather Cox, left the bank on Friday.
Citi’s previous head of technology for consumer banking, Mark Torkos, retired in July. The role did not go to Cox or Anil Wadhani, head of operations for global consumer banking, who is filling in for Torkos in the interim until Michael takes over on Nov. 14.
This move, in other words, may explain Cox’s unexpected move to USAA, announced Friday. She left Citi Fintech before the mobile-first unit could launch a single product. Her role is currently being filled by Yolande Piazza, the unit’s chief administrative officer.
At Chase, Michael relaunched the mobile app and online banking, and won numerous awards and plaudits for his work. Before Chase, Michael held senior technology and innovation roles at Accenture, Lloyds Bank, and IBM. At Citi, he will report to Stephen Bird, CEO of global consumer banking, and matrix to Don Callahan, head of operations & technology. Michael will be replaced at JPMorgan Chase by Bill Wallace.