Citi has named Elyse Lesley chief marketing officer of its US Consumer Bank after a thorough selection process of both internal and external candidates, the company announced in a press release. Lesley, who has held the role on an interim basis since September, will report to the head of US Consumer Bank Gonzalo Luchetti and will have a matrix reporting relationship with Citi’s chief marketing officer.

Lesley will retain her most recent role as head of Citi’s US Consumer Partnerships and Franchise Development team. Prior to that, she served as head of shared services for Citi’s US Retail Bank for about eight years. Before joining Citi, she was head of marketing and sales strategy at Morgan Stanley and head of regional sales and marketing at Wells Fargo’s Eastern Community Bank.

In appointing Lesley, Citi is prioritizing a data-oriented and digital-first approach to its expansion strategy. In one of her previous roles at Citi, Lesley provided leadership in her team’s effort to define a business digital roadmap while working in partnership with global digital and technology organizations. 

According to Luchetti, another reason Lesley was selected is that she links her current team and the Partnerships and Franchise Development team with the effect of enhancing Citi’s ability to generate end-to-end strategies for clients and partners. As CMO, Lesley will shepherd the two teams toward achieving their collective goals of building a world-class digital and data-oriented marketing organization that will be made possible through leading advertising and marketing technology, a growth mindset, a client-centric approach and a passion for driving Citi’s digital sales transformation.

“In her 10 years on our team, Elyse has built an impressive record of innovative, client-centered and colleague-focused leadership. While leading the Partnerships and Franchise Development team, she has ensured we continue to accelerate our efforts to attract, retain and serve multi-relationship clients, an important enabler of our continued growth. And her focus on strengthening our relationships with current partners and building a pipeline of new partnerships is empowering us to continue increasing the scale of our customer base,” said Luchetti.

Lesley replaces Mary Hines Droesch who stepped down last month to lead Bank of America’s consumer and small business products division.