It is easy to mistake Jim Cowles for the archetypal American businessman abroad. With his slicked-back hair, square jaw and bone-crunching handshake, the California-native does not seem like a natural choice to head Citigroup in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

But appearances can be deceiving: In more than a decade in London, the 62-year-old Cowles has added a British passport to his US one (a handy tool in the era of Brexit), travelled extensively through his 55-country empire and presided over the European renaissance of a bank that nearly collapsed during the financial crisis.