William R. Rhodes

For other people named William Rhodes, see William Rhodes (disambiguation).
William R. Rhodes

Rhodes at the World Economic Forum in 2011.
Born William Reginald Rhodes
(1935-08-15) August 15, 1935
New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality United States
Education B.A. (History)
Alma mater

Brown University

Northfield Mount Hermon School
Occupation Banker

William R. "Bill" Rhodes (born August 15, 1935) is an American banker, and philanthropist. He is a former senior international officer and senior vice chairman of Citigroup and Citibank. He served in various senior executive positions at Citi from 1957 until his retirement from Citigroup on April 30, 2010.[1]

Early life and education

William Reginald Rhodes was born August 15, 1935 in New York City, New York to parents Edward R. Rhodes and Elsie Rhodes. He attended secondary school at Northfield Mount Hermon School, Northfield, MA. After graduating from Northfield Mount Hermon School in 1953, Rhodes enrolled at Brown University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, graduating with the class of 1957.[2] Brown University presented Rhodes with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) on May 29, 2005.[3] In 1969 he earned the Executive Award from the Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management at the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration of Dartmouth College.

Career

Citigroup

Early Years: 1957 to 1980

Rhodes joined Citibank, N.A. in 1957 and was transferred in 1958 to the Maracaibo, Venezuela office as an Executive Trainee. In 1964, Rhodes was named Assistant Manager for Citibank in Caracas, Venezuela. In 1966 Rhodes became Assistant Manager in Jamaica and then Manager and Country Head for Citibank Jamaica in 1969. Throughout the 1970s, Rhodes continued to rise quickly within the Citi ranks being named Resident Vice President and Area Head for the Eastern Caribbean region in 1970, and then in 1971 he became Resident Vice President and subsequently Vice President for Venezuela and the Netherlands Antilles. In 1976 he was named Senior Vice President in charge of banking operations for Citi for the entire Caribbean and Northern South American regions. In 1977 Rhodes was named Senior Vice President of Latin America and the Caribbean based in the New York Office, and then became Senior Corporate Officer and a member of the banks policy committee for Latin America and Africa in 1980.

International Debt Crisis: 1984 to 2000

In 1984 Rhodes was named Chairman of Citibank Restructuring Committee where he began to gain a reputation for international financial diplomacy as a result of his leadership in helping manage the external-debt crises that involved developing nations and their creditors worldwide. During that period he headed the advisory committees of international banks that negotiated debt-restructuring agreements for Argentina, Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Uruguay.

In 1991 Rhodes was appointed Vice Chairman and Senior Risk Officer for Citicorp and Citibank, and held that position until the end of 2000.

In 1998, when the Republic of Korea experienced liquidity problems, he chaired the international bank group that negotiated the extension of short-term debt of the Korean banking system. In early 1999, at the request of the government of Brazil, he acted as worldwide coordinator to help implement the maintenance of trade and interbank lines by foreign commercial banks to Brazil. He has since served as a trusted advisor to governments, financial officials and corporations worldwide.

Later Years: 2000 to 2010

In May 1999, Rhodes was appointed as Senior Vice Chairman of Citigroup, Inc., a position that he held until his retirement in 2010. In March 2003 he became Chairman of Citicorp, and Citibank, N.A., positions that he held until 2009. Mr. Rhodes announced his formal retirement from Citigroup on April 30, 2010 after more than 53 years, but remains on as a senior advisor for Citi.[1]

Other Positions

Rhodes served as the President of Chipco Inc., President of the Venezuela-American Chamber of Commerce, and President of the Bankers Association for Foreign Trade. He also served as the Chairman of the U.S. Advisory Committee of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and of the U.S. Section of the Venezuela-U.S. Business Council. He served as a Director of Conoco Inc. from October 1998 to 2002, and then served as a Director of ConocoPhillips from August 2002 to May 5, 2008. He also served as a Director of ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc.

Rhodes served on the board of the Institute of International Finance Inc. (IIF) from 1989 until 2010. In 1993 Rhodes was elected Vice Chairman of the IIF and served in that position until being named First Vice Chairman, a position held from 2003 until 2010. He also served as Acting Chairman of the IIF from 1994 until 2010. In October 2010, he announced his retirement from the IIF board and was elected as its First Vice Chairman Emeritus, a position that he currently holds.[4]

Rhodes served as the Chairman of the U.S.-Korea Business Council, and still serves as the Chairman Emeritus. He served as Chairman of Americas Society and Council of the Americas, and still serves as a director and Chairman Emeritus.

Rhodes served as Chairman of the New York Blood Center during 1998 and 1999.

Rhodes was appointed Professor at Large for Brown University from 2010 through 2015.

Post-Citigroup

Rhodes is president and CEO of William R. Rhodes Global Advisors, LLC. In July 2010, he accepted a five-year appointment as professor-at-large at Brown University.[5] He remains senior advisor for Citi, having stepped back from full-time responsibilities after more than 53 years with the institution. He is a retired senior vice chairman and senior international officer of Citigroup and Citibank.

Current Boards and Appointments

Philanthropy

The William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance at Brown University was established in 2007 with the generous support of William R. Rhodes.[6]

Rhodes also made a generous lead gift in 2008 to the Northfield Mount Hermon School for the Rhodes Arts Center, a 63,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that opened in September 2008.[7]

Rhodes is a major donor to the New York Presbyterian Hospital where he serves as Governor and Trustee.

Awards and Honors


Rhodes is an Officer and Chevalier of France's Legion of Honor; and has received decorations from Poland, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Jamaica; and multiple awards from not-for-profit organizations such as the Africa-America Institute, the Arab Bankers Association of North America and the America-Israel Friendship League in recognition of his contributions to international banking and finance.

Published Work

In 2011, McGraw-Hill published his book Banker to the World: Leadership Lessons From the Front Lines of Global Finance.[26] The book is currently in its 2nd edition in English. A separate English edition was published in India and Sub Continent. The book has been translated and published in a number of languages including Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, and most recently Spanish.

Other Published Work

In addition, Rhodes has written numerous op-ed articles for many of the top-tier financial publications, and often appears on business television programs.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "William R. Rhodes Announces Retirement from Citi". www.bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. March 31, 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  2. ↑ "NNDB: William R. Rhodes". Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Brown University Will Confer 10 Honorary Degrees on May 29". Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "Tribute to Bill Rhodes for More than Two Decades of IIF Leadership". http://www.iif.com. October 10, 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2013. External link in |website= (help)
  5. ↑ "William Rhodes appointed University professor-at-large". www.brown.edu. September 8, 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "About The Rhodes Center". http://brown.edu/. External link in |website= (help)
  7. ↑ "Rhodes Arts Center". http://www.nmhschool.org//. External link in |website= (help)
  8. ↑ "Debt Diplomat Extraordinaire".
  9. ↑ "Person of the year Award".
  10. ↑ "The Americas Award Recipients".
  11. ↑ "Achievement Award Recipients".
  12. ↑ "Stephen P Duggan Award for Mutual Understanding".
  13. ↑ "Citibank/Salomon Smith Barney Named IFR'S 1999 Bank of the Year".
  14. ↑ "The William Rogers Award".
  15. ↑ "Americas Society 32nd Annual Spring Party".
  16. ↑ "Brazil's Culture Minister to Receive UWI Bob Marley Award".
  17. ↑ "America-Israel Friendship League - Past Award Recipients".
  18. ↑ "The Banker Awards 2007".
  19. ↑ "Staying Power".
  20. ↑ "Xia Deren and Li Wancai meet Vice President of Citibank WIlliam Rhodes".
  21. ↑ "Take Action Fulbright Awards Dinner".
  22. ↑ "William R. Rhodes Receives American Banker's Liftime Achievement Award".
  23. ↑ "Council of the Americas".
  24. ↑ "William R. Rhodes Receives US Sciences Po Foundation Award".
  25. ↑ "William Rhodes receives BRAVO Business Legacy Award".
  26. ↑ Cooper, Richard N. (September–October 2011). "Banker to the World: Leadership Lessons From the Front Lines of Global Finance". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 26 June 2012.

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