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Richard “Dick” Parsons, an influential US corporate executive who served as chairman of Citigroup in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, has died.
Parsons died Thursday, according to the release notice at investment bank Lazard, where he was a board member. The New York Times reported that the cause of death was bone cancer, citing Ronald Lauder, heir to Estée Lauder. Parsons was 76 years old.
Parsons took over as Citi's chairman in February 2009 as the bank was recovering 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 connections would be an asset at Citi.
“The influence and involvement of the taxpayer and the directors in this company is important,” he said at the time. Parsons retired from Citi in 2012.
He previously jumped into the firefight in 2002 when he took over Time Warner after its disastrous merger with AOL. During Warner's time, Parsons parted ways with investor Carl Icahn who fought for control of the news station in 2006.
Parsons supported Barack Obama's run for the White House. He has served on the boards of the Apollo Theater in New York and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.
This is a growing story