Russ Morton, Smith Barney's branch system director, is retiring from the Citigroup Inc. unit in a streamlining of management.
Mr. Morton, whose retirement plan was announced internally last week, has spent the past two years overseeing branch operations at the New York retail brokerage unit, according to a memo read to Dow Jones.
The 25-year Smith Barney veteran started there as a financial adviser. He later became regional director for the Midsouth and then divisional director for the South.
Mr. Morton said in an e-mail that he is returning to Santa Fe, N.M., to be with his family.
"Our family has spent the last several years building our retirement home in Santa Fe, and we've all decided it was time to change the pace and shift the focus of our lives," he said.
A Smith Barney spokesman who confirmed Mr. Morton's exit would not give the executive's exact age.
Smith Barney is streamlining the reporting structure of its four sales divisions, in the Northeast, the South, the Midwest, and the West. The unit does not plan to name a successor for Mr. Morton. Charlie Johnston, its president, will directly oversee the four division directors who previously reported to Mr. Morton.
Smith Barney has been reviewing its management structure and expenses in an initiative spearheaded by Robert Druskin, Citi's chief operating officer.
The initiative could lead to 15,000 job cuts worldwide, primarily among Citi's back-office and support personnel, and a $1 billion charge against its earnings.
Smith Barney, the second-largest retail brokerage house in the United States, is expected to shut down some of its branches as part of a real estate consolidation plan. A person familiar with the plan said the unit may not renew contracts on some branches where 10-year leases are scheduled to expire soon.
