Sri Lankan appointed as Citigroup’s top lawyer
A top Sri Lankan-born lawyer, who was the Senior Partner at Us-based law firm Shearman & Sterling has been appointed as the General Counsel for global banking giant Citigroup with effect from June, according to foreign media reports.
Rohan Weerasinghe (Harvard, HLS), joined Shearman & Sterling in 1977 and has advised Citi and several other banks in his 35-year career, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and UBS, according to Wall Street Journal.
He initially focused on mergers and acquisitions but later switched his emphasis to capital markets.
Weerasinghe, 61, will replace Michael Helfer, who has been general counsel at Citi for nine years. Helfer will become vice chairman, the bank said in a statement.
Weerasinghe was quoted by Reuters as saying: “I am excited to have the opportunity to go from one leading global organization to another.” “Having spent 35 years advising companies on their most critical legal issues, I am looking forward to this new professional challenge -- leading Citi’s world-class legal organization as it continues to provide important guidance to the company.”