The CEO of a large corporation holds the position for an average of five years. In that time there may only be two or three transformational decisions taken. The aim of the Citigroup investment banker is to occupy a seat across the table from the CEO, to be a strategic adviser on a peer-to-peer basis, and to be involved in those big decisions.
Five years ago that meant talking on an equal footing about the impact on business of fibre optics or the internet. Today the dialogue is more likely to be about oil and commodity prices, currency and interest rate fluctuations, competition from emerging markets and strategy for China and India.
