Citigroup (NYSE: C) has hired a top deputy to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in hopes of boosting the company’s public image and to mend the company’s relations with state and federal regulators.
Edward Skyler, a 36-yaer old deputy mayor of operations in New York, will become Citigroup’s new executive vice president of global public affairs and will be in charge of all internal and external communications. Skyler will report directly to company CEO Vikram S. Pandit and be serving on the bank’s 18-member executive committee.
The choice to hire Skyler was driven by the need to demonstrate Pandit’s process in turning around the New York-based financial giant and to develop better relationships with regulators at all levels of government, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Skyler has been one of Mayor Bloomberg’s closest advisors since his first mayoral campaign in 2001. Skyler was just 28 years old when the New York City mayor made him his press secretary. In that position, he aggressively defended Bloomberg’s image to the point of cursing at reporters. During Bloomberg’s second term, Skyler rose to the rank of deputy mayor and oversaw a major portion of the city’s government.
During an interview, Skyler said he would call on his “experience navigating difficult environments,” adding the bank was “looking for somebody battle-tested who understood how the media works and how governments work.”
