Barclays appoints Anita Tanna as Chief of Staff

Barclays is set to reveal a new strategy that doesn’t appear to involve significant cuts to its investment bank, despite lacklustre revenues and unmet returns. Notably, there’s a new chief of staff in place. According to sources within the bank, Anita Tanna, formerly the head of equity sales and high-touch programme and trading execution services, has been promoted to chief of staff. She will report directly to Barclays’ CEO, C. S. Venkatakrishnan. Tanna joined Barclays in 2021 after a lengthy tenure at Citi. Barclays has not officially commented on the promotion; an internal memo circulated yesterday announced Tanna’s new role. Despite her background in equity sales, Tanna will serve as Venkat’s chief of staff for the entire Barclays group.

The chief of staff role involves addressing human issues that may arise during the implementation of a CEO’s strategic changes. As Barclays aims to boost its returns, Tanna is likely tasked with easing tensions, with her experience in the investment bank suggesting that this area may be particularly challenging.