Who’s Who in Banking & Finance: Getting Early Jump On Workday

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What business lines and geography do you serve in the L.A. area?

Citi Private Bank is a unit of Citigroup which works with ultra-high-net-worth clients. My region covers the western United States from Seattle to Southern California and east to Arizona.

How much time do you spend traveling for the job, including visiting branch offices and seeing clients?

Face time is an increasingly rare treasure in our digital world. Around 70 percent of my time is spent traveling to be with our clients, to host events for them or on commuting between our seven offices.

What’s something about the L.A. business community you didn’t realize before taking this job?

New Yorkers may work late, but Angelenos are up earlier! We start our day at Citi with a 5 a.m. market update call, and our clients typically call us first thing in the morning to discuss their needs and the opportunities in the markets. Major cities typically derive much of their culture from their climate, so maybe it’s L.A.’s consistent sunshine that inspires an early bird approach to business here.

How do you differentiate your bank from both locally based and other national banks with a presence in this city?

Many of our clients are entrepreneurs so while they may start their venture locally in Los Angeles, we partner with them as they expand their vision around the world. From registering an aircraft in Bermuda to opening a cash management account in London, we source solutions from all four corners.

What’s the best part about working for a big bank rather than a smaller one?

The global reach and the ability to bring the talent, resources and ideas from Citi’s presence in more than 100 countries to our clients locally.

And the worst part?

I wouldn’t say worst, but certainly the bigger the environment, the more one needs to hone their navigational abilities to find the right people and solutions for the task at hand.

What’s an area of your business you’d like to grow?

With California as one of the world’s largest economies and areas of new wealth creation, we strive to meet and serve more of the vibrant entrepreneurs who are driving change and creating value in our beautiful state.

It’s been more than six years since the financial crisis hit. How well do you think your industry has learned the pertinent lessons from that catastrophe? What are those lessons?

Postcrisis, the financial services industry has been the recipient of many new regulations put in place to solidify the learnings of the crisis and to prevent a repeat. The best firms will be transparent with clients about these changes and take the time to explain them.

What’s the best advice you ever got?

One, listen more than you talk. Two, don’t be fooled by the laid-back image of Californians. Both have proved to be very insightful.

What’s your favorite restaurant for business meetings?

As I’m based in Beverly Hills, I always support our local dining establishments and have too many favorites to list.

Lakers, Clippers or neither?

Any team with Los Angeles in its name counts me as a fan.

Halé Behzadi, 51

Title: Managing Director and Western Region Head, Citi Private Bank

Bank: Citi

Rank, Local Deposit Market Share: 6, 4.5 percent

Residence: Los Angeles

Family: Husband and two children.

Activities: Skiing, Pilates, community involvement

Years in L.A. Area: 29

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