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Richard “Dick” Parsons, an influential US corporate executive who chaired Citigroup through the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, has died.
Parsons died on Thursday according to an announcement from investment bank Lazard, where he had been a board member. The New York Times reported the cause of death was bone cancer, citing Ronald Lauder, the Estée Lauder heir. Parsons was 76.
Parsons took over as chair of Citi in February 2009 as the bank was reeling from the 2008 financial crisis. He joined the bank shortly after its $300bn bailout from the federal government. Parsons told the Financial Times in 2009 that his background and business connections would be an asset at Citi.
“The influence and the involvement of the taxpayer and regulators over this company is significant,” he said at the time. Parsons stepped down from Citi in 2012.
He previously jumped into a firefight in 2002 when he took over Time Warner after its disastrous merger with AOL. At Time Warner, Parsons sparred 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 the Apollo Theater in New York and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.
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