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Richard “Dick” Parsons, the influential US corporate executive who headed Citigroup during the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis, has died.
Parsons died Thursday, according to advertisement From the investment bank Lazard, where he was a member of the board of directors. The New York Times reported the cause of death as bone cancer, citing Estée Lauder heir Ronald Lauder. Parsons was 76 years old.
Parsons took over as president of Citi in February 2009 when the bank was reeling from the 2008 financial crisis. He joined the bank shortly after its $300 billion bailout from the federal government. Parsons He told the Financial Times in 2009 that his background and business contacts would be an asset at City.
“The influence and involvement of taxpayers and regulators on this company is significant,” he said at the time. Parsons stepped down from City in 2012.
He previously jumped into a gunfight in 2002 when he took over Time Warner after its disastrous merger with AOL. At Time Warner, Parsons feuded with activist investor Carl Icahn who fought for control of the media giant in 2006.
Parsons supported Barack Obama's run for the White House. He also served on the boards of directors for the Apollo Theater in New York and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.
This is a developing story
