Yesterday's report [subscription required] in the Wall Street Journal's website, that Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C) is set to name Gary Crittenden as the new CFO has been made official. Crittenden is taking the job of Sallie Krawcheck who left the CFO position when she took the head job of Citigroup's global wealth-management division.

Fifty-two year old Crittenden has extensive experience on Wall Street, most recently at American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) where he is currently the CFO and executive vice president. Prior to joining American Express, he served as CFO of Monsanto, an executive of Sears Roebuck, and a board member of UPS and Staples, according to MarketWatch.

It will be interesting to see how the followers of Citigroup's stock (e.g. analysts, money managers, etc.) respond to this announcement. I expect them to be optimistic because Crittenden has extensive experience as a CFO and could help Citigroup turn the company around as well as help manage the current rate environment.

Citigroup shares are up 0.46% to $54.02 in pre-market trading as of 8:35 a.m.