Bill Thompson, the former chief executive of Newport Beach bond fund manager Pacific Investment Management Co., has been nominated to serve as a director on Citigroup Inc.’s board.
Shareholders will vote on April 21 to approve a new slate of directors as the company tries to right itself after being crushed with losses in the collapse of the credit market.
Other nominees include Jerry Grundhofer, chairman emeritus and retired chairman and chief executive U.S. Bancorp, Michael O’Neill, retired Bank of Hawaii chairman and chief executive, and Anthony Santomero, a former senior adviser at McKinsey & Co. and previously a president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
The board shakeup comes as the government is upping its stake in the struggling bank. Last month Washington said it expects to boost its equity stake in Citigroup to as much as 36%.
Many see the government as behind the board picks.
Thompson, who retired from Pimco at the end of last year, was listed along with three others as probable director nominations, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.
Thompson retired from Pimco at the end of last year after 15 with the company. Mohamed El-Erian replaced him, and also shares the role of the role of co-chief investment officer with Bill Gross.
Thompson and Gross pulled off a sale of the company to German insurer Allianz SE in 2000.
He also helped grow it from $40 billion in assets and 125 employees into a global company with nearly $750 billion in assets and 1,000 employees.
Prior to joining Pimco, Thompson spent 18 years with Salomon Brothers including two in Tokyo as chairman, Salomon Brothers Asia.
