[ by Melanie Gretchen ] Vikram Pandit has begun the hunt.  At the behest of Citigroup's newly reconstituted board, the current CEO will select a successor, in order to receive $10 million in deferred stock over three years beginning on 12/31/13, according to an award granted to him last year. Who's Under Consideration. At the top of list is Mike Corbat, the head of Citigroup's operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, according to people close to the company.  Also under consideration may be Jamie Forese, the CEO of securities and n banking, and Jane Fraser, who runs Citigroup's private bank – though this list may include many additional undisclosed members,

• Mr. Corbat, 52, received high marks in October for his handling of Citi Holdings, a unit that houses assets the bank wants to sell or wind down, toward his current position.  The former Harvard football player began his career in the fixed income sales department of Salomon Brothers, joined Citigroup as part of the 1998 merger.

• Mr. Forese, 49, has been tapped to one day run Citi's institutional clients group.  Among his colleagues, he is known as a "straight shooter" who "inspires loyalty among his subordinates and peers," said a person close to the board.

• Ms. Fraser, 44, has made her name at the firm for helping Citigroup restructure itself in the wake of the financial crisis while she was global head of strategy and mergers and acquisitions.  Since joining Citi in 2004, her deals include the sale of a large Japanese brokerage firm to the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. and the continuing divestiture of the Smith Barney brokerage to Morgan Stanley.

Going Forward. Unlike Barclays PLC and Nomura Holdings Inc., Mr. Pandit's choice is not driven by company scandal.  Nevertheless, slow economic growth and tighter regulators have dropped the company's share value 34% in the past year, down 92% since he assumed the role of CEO, making the succession an upcoming one. In the meantime, Mr. Pandit, 55, will stay on to steady the bank and more fully put his stamp on the company.  For this, he has the full support of the board as well as a retention package valued at more than $16 million, including the deferred stock. For further details, go to [WSJ, 8/2/12].