A Citi banking MD with two MBAs left of his own volition, as did a director
How many MBAs are required to do a technology investment banking deal? If you're Davide Russo, a senior technology banker, two are advisable: one from IESE in Spain, focused on broad corporate strategy; one from the London business school, focused on venture capital and entrepreneurship.
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Three years ago, Russo took his MBAs to Citi, where he became the head of EMEA technology services investment banking. Now he has taken his MBAs off again.
Citi isn't commenting and Russo didn't respond to a request to comment, but multiple sources say Russo has handed in his resignation. It's not clear what he intends to do next, but the possibilities are manifold. Immediately before he joined Citi, Russo was head of strategy and investments for ByteDance, which owns TikTok. He is thus equipped for both banking or corporate development roles.
Russo's apparent resignation now is not unsurprising. Bonuses have been paid for last year and bankers everywhere are moving on.
Russo's is not the only exit at Citi. It's understood that Andrea Canavesio has also resigned as a director in the financial sponsor group.
Citi's financial sponsors group is now run by Sidharth Punshi, the former co-head of the financial sponsor group at JPMorgan. Punshi joined Citi in late 2024 and is said to be a dominant force in both the financial sponsors and tech teams.
Earlier this month, Ashu Khullar, Citi's head of global asset managers, told Bloomberg this will likely be a busy year for financial sponsors deals. âFrom private equity to infrastructure to credit, alternative asset managers are once again more actively participating in big transactions.â
Sources at Citi in London say the European team may leak more people before the year is out.
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