The member of the Citibank alumni club who most influenced the lives of all his colleagues is barely seen around business circles these days. John Reed of course kept himself to himself in the latter part of his career at the bank. And these days he is pretty reclusive. Colleagues say he is still haunted by the period in 1999 when, in the aftermath of Citi's takeover by Travelers, he was eclipsed by his co-chairman, Sandy Weill.
Former colleagues say that Reed must take some of the blame for Citi's surrender to the insurance company Travelers, and his personal loss of sovereignty. Shaukat Tareen, a former Citibank country manager in Pakistan, argues: "If there had been the Pei Chias and Rana Talwars there, it would have been very difficult for Travelers to take over the consumer side of Citi. But Weill came in and within...
