John Havens

Citigroup on Wednesday announced the promotion of John Havens, the head of its Institutional Clients Group, to president and chief operating officer. The move is designed to make the financial behemoth nimbler by cutting the number of executives who report directly to CEO Vikram Pandit.

Citigroup Inc. (C) will pay five of its top executives almost $33 million in stock compensation this year and plans to increase its CEO's salary above his $1 a year figure in 2011, marking the financial institution's effort to reward executives for turning a profit so far this year after two years of losses.

CEOs who cut the most jobs during the recession earned an average of 42% more than their S&P 500 peers, according to a study by the Institute for Policy Studies. Top execs at the 50 firms that laid off the most workers since the economic crisis began averaged nearly $12 million in 2009.