Former Citi CFO joins Huntsman Gay

Gary Crittenden, former chief financial officer of Citigroup, has joined Huntsman Gay Global Capital as a managing director.

Crittenden most recently served as chairman of Citi Holdings, which houses some of Citi’s most toxic assets such as mortgage-backed securities. Citi has not yet announced a replacement for Crittenden.

Prior to Citi, Crittenden was chief financial officer at American Express from 2000 to 2007. He has also served as CFO at Monsanto and Sears, Roebuck. He began his career in consulting at Bain & Company.

“I’ve been interested in private equity for many years,” Crittenden said in a statement.

Crittenden is leaving Citi to “relocate to Utah to devote more time to his family and other business interests”, Citi chief executive officer Vikram Pandit said in a statement.

Huntsman Gay is a new private equity firm that has raised $1.2 billion for its debut fund. The firm was formed by former Utah industrialist Jon Huntsman and former Bain Capital director Robert Gay. Among the managing directors are Steve Young, formerly the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, the US professional football team. Young left Salt Lake City, Utah-based private equity firm Sorenson Capital to join Huntsman.

The firm pursues a generalist strategy through buyouts, growth equity investments and investments in mid-cap public companies. It has offices in Salt Lake City, Palo Alto, California and Foxborough, Massachusetts.