Deepak Sharma named Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup Global Wealth Management, Asia-Pacific & Middle East

With his appointment, Mr. Sharma will oversee the operations of the Smith Barney Private Client group in addition to his current responsibilities as President, Asia-Pacific and Middle East Private Banking. The combined entity includes more than 1,500 employees.

"We have an enormous opportunity to leverage our leading position in Asia, the fastest growing wealth management market in the world, and no one has better skills or experience to capitalize on the opportunity than Deepak and his team," said Mr. Todd Thompson, Chairman and CEO, Citigroup Global Wealth Management.

In his new role, Mr. Sharma will have oversight of Smith Barney Private Client offices in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taipei. He will report to Jerry Eberhardt, Senior EVP and Smith Barney Western Division Director.

Mr. Sharma added: "The private banking and private client businesses have always been complementary by nature. By bringing together two of the fastest growing areas in wealth management, we will be able to achieve even greater synergy and generate even better service for all our high net worth clients.

Mr. Sharma joined Citigroup in 1976 and has held a variety of senior positions spanning different geographical and functional areas across the company. He has worked with Citigroup in India, Korea, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Switzerland prior to coming to Asia to take up his current assignment with the Private Bank.