Citi Names Gonca Latif-Schmitt As Head Of Commercial Cards Unit

Citigroup announced news on Tuesday (Aug. 15) it had appointed Gonca Latif-Schmitt as the global head of its commercial cards business.

In a press release, the bank said the global commercial cards business is a core unit for Citi and a key differentiator from other institutions. In this role, Latif-Schmitt will report to Naveed Sultan, global head of Citi’s treasury and trade solutions department, and will continue to be based in New York.

“Gonca has a successful track record in building large and complex businesses, as exemplified in her most recent position as head of the North American commercial card business,” Sultan said in the news release. “We look to her to extend the current growth trajectory and consolidate the long-term financial success of the global business.”

Citi’s commercial cards business provides travel, purchase and virtual cards services to institutional clients including corporations, financial institutions and public sector entities. Citi said the business has been recognized as a global market leader with the largest proprietary network in the industry, and local issuance in more than 60 countries, 45 unique currencies and 30 languages.

Gonca has been with Citi for more than 23 years, most recently as the head of North American commercial cards where she was successful in building and growing a large, diversified business over a four-year period, according to Citi.

Around the same time that Citigroup is promoting an executive from within, Barclays is poaching an executive from the global bank. Last week, Barclays announced it had named Barry Rodrigues as chief executive of Barclaycard International. In a press release announcing the news, the investment bank said Rodrigues will be based in New York and join the Barclays International Executive Committee, reporting directly to Tim Throsby, president of Barclays International and CEO of the corporate and investment bank.

Rodrigues served at Citi for six years, most recently as head of digital payments for the company’s global consumer bank.