Catherine Palmieri is no longer the managing director of Citibank.com.
Ms. Palmieri's departure took place within the past month. A spokesman for Citigroup Inc. would not discuss the matter, but a payment executive confirmed Wednesday that she has left the New York company, and her name has been removed from at least one Citigroup phone directory.
George Tubin, a senior analyst at TowerGroup Inc., a Needham, Mass., independent research firm owned by MasterCard Inc., said Citi may have let her go as part of an cost-cutting drive. After reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $9.8 billion, Citi said last month that it was planning to cut 4,200 jobs.
Mr. Tubin said that Ms. Palmieri's departure was "very surprising," since Citi was "recognized in the industry as one of the best top-tier banks when it came to online sales and marketing."
Ms. Palmieri said in 2004 that 40% of people who applied for a Citi account online lived outside its branch network. Mr. Tubin said an effort by the company to trim its online marketing group could indicate that it wants to focus more on areas where it has branches.
Calls to local phone listings for women with Palmieri's name were not immediately returned.
