Executive Set to Step Down as Company's Head of Citizen Experience
Citizens Financial Group Announces Beth Johnson's Retirement and Organisational Changes
Beth Johnson, the Vice Chair and Chief Experience Officer of Citizens Financial Group, is retiring effective March 3, the bank announced today. Johnson has been a key member of the bank's executive committee for 11 years, playing a crucial role in building the bank's digital, data, and marketing capabilities, as well as driving its environmental, social, and governance initiatives.
In the wake of Johnson's departure, Citizens Financial Group is making several organisational changes. The bank will create a senior executive role to oversee an expanded corporate strategy function, including strategy, corporate development, customer experience, innovation, and sustainability. However, the bank is not hiring a successor for the chief experience officer role.
Instead, the bank is decentralising the enterprise experience organisation to align with the bank's businesses and other functions. Marketing, enterprise data, analytics, enterprise payments, and some support functions will report to consumer banking. Don McCree will lead enterprise payments work, while Brendan Coughlin will oversee data, analytics, and marketing teams.
The bank is considering both internal and external candidates for the corporate strategy role. The enterprise strategy function will be responsible for setting the bank's long-term strategic direction and driving its growth.
Johnson oversaw customer experience, digital design, enterprise payments strategy, and the bank's sustainability & impact programs during her tenure. Her leadership and contributions have been instrumental in shaping the bank's current state and future direction.
While details about Johnson's post-retirement plans or future endeavours are not available, her legacy at Citizens Financial Group will undoubtedly continue to shape the bank's trajectory. Her retirement marks the end of an era, but also the beginning of a new one, as the bank moves forward with its expanded strategy and organisational changes.
Citizens Financial Group will create a senior executive role to oversee an expanded corporate strategy function, encompassing strategy, corporate development, customer experience, innovation, and sustainability, following Johnson's retirement. The bank is not hiring a successor for the chief experience officer role, instead choosing to decentralize the enterprise experience organization, aligning various functions such as marketing, enterprise data, analytics, enterprise payments, and support functions under consumer banking.
