Overview

Gender

male

William E. "Bill" Johnson is CEO of Citi Retail Services, which provides consumer and commercial credit products and services, including private label credit cards, for national and regional retailers across the U.S. and Canada. The business services more than 40 million customers and consists of managed assets of approximately $50 billion. Marquee partners include The Home Depot, Shell, Macy's, Sears, and ExxonMobil.

Mr. Johnson joined Citi in 1999 and has been responsible for various aspects of both Citi Cards North America and the Retail Services business. Under his leadership, the Citi Retail Services -- formerly Retail Partner Cards -- segment grew from $6B in 2000 to more than $50B at the end of 2009 making Citi the clear leader and preferred provider in this market. He previously served as an Executive Vice President of both Retail Partnerships and the Retail Sector for Citi Cards. Mr. Johnson was instrumental in bringing The Home Depot, Sears and Macy's portfolios to Citi.

Prior to Citi, Mr. Johnson held a number of executive positions at GE Capital. During his decade-long tenure there, he gained invaluable knowledge about building strong partner relationships, acquiring new portfolios and developing programs specializing in multi-level distribution. His early career experience includes several positions in business and dealer development. During this time he was responsible for the acquisition of more than $15B in new business. He also completed both the MDC and BMC development programs and was a multiple winner of the highly coveted "Pinnacle" award.

Considered an expert in contract negotiation, Mr. Johnson is recognized throughout the industry as a thought leader in the structure of retail credit programs. He has been featured in a number of industry publications and is sought out for his business views. He has also used his negotiation skills to benefit the nonprofit sector. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, Mr. Johnson has taught several workshops on "The Art of Negotiation" to train nonprofit executives in negotiation skills.