Notwithstanding his India connections, Pandit is not known for any expertise in emerging markets, even as the Indian economy has grown at an annual pace of 7 to 9 percent in recent years.
 
“Surprisingly, Vikram has far fewer personal relationships within the higher echelons of Indian business,” a friend said today. “But his political instincts are like those of Chanakya, the legendary Indian political savant. I bet that if Vikram were ever to return to India, he’d do very well in politics. Except, of course, that he’s shy in front of crowds.”
 
Still, Pandit is the beneficiary of a strong bond between the Indian subcontinent and Citigroup that dates back more than four decades, when what was known as Citibank accelerated the hiring of bright finance and management executives from India and Pakistan. Many of these hires were graduates of such prestigious Indian schools as the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management.

Ajay Banga, who joined the bank in 1996 after serving as PepsiCo’s marketing director in India, is chairman and chief executive of Citi’s international consumer group. Similarly, Vikram Atal is chairman and C.E.O. of Citigroup consumer cards.

Indeed, some of these executives rose so rapidly through the ranks that they were often touted as possible C.E.O. candidates. For example, Victor Menezes, an I.I.T. alumnus who was hired by Citibank’s then chairman Walter Wriston, soon became a protégé of Wriston’s successor, John S. Reed. It was Reed who designated Menezes as the bank’s in-house, one-man think tank and elevated him to vice chairman of the entire institution and C.E.O. of banking operations. At the time, the widespread speculation within Citicorp was that Reed was grooming Menezes to succeed him.

Menezes’ fortunes steadily declined after Citicorp merged with Sandy Weill’s Travelers Group.

Another high-profile departure from Citigroup was Shaukat Aziz of Pakistan, who was head of Citicorp’s global private bank. In 2004, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf made Aziz prime minister, a post he held until last month.

In contrast to Aziz, who has lavish homes in New York and elsewhere, Pandit has had a fairly modest lifestyle.

In September, however, he and his wife—who have two teenagers—bought actor Tony Randall’s full-floor 10-room apartment at the Beresford on Central Park West.