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William E. "Bill" Johnson

CEO

William E. “Bill” Johnson is CEO of Citi Retail Services, the division of Citi’s North America Consumer Banking business that provides consumer and commercial credit card products, services, and retail solutions to national and regional retailers across the U.S. The business services nearly 90 million accounts for a number of iconic brands, including The Home Depot, Macy’s, Sears, Shell, and ExxonMobil, among others. Mr. Johnson joined Citi in 1999 and previously served as an Executive Vice President of both Retail Partnerships and the Retail Sector for Citi Cards North America. Most recently, he led the remarkable turnaround of Citi Retail Services (previously known as Retail Partner Cards). The streamlined entity emerged from Citi Holdings after nearly three years, a stronger, more profitable business with solid growth prospects for the years ahead. Mr. Johnson was instrumental in bringing The Home Depot, Sears and Macy’s portfolios to Citi, establishing its foundation as a premier provider of partnership services. 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. Mr. Johnson is an alumnus of the Citi Chairman’s Executive Forum and Business Leadership Program. In addition to his work with the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, a nationally recognized capacity-building organization, he is engaged in a number of local community activities. He holds an M.B.A. from Georgia State University.