The President of Standard & Poor's, the credit ratings company that downgraded the U.S. credit rating, is stepping down. S&P's parent company, McGraw Hill announced that Mr. Deven Sharma will be replaced by current Citibank Chief Operating Officer Douglas Peterson. Peterson will take control on the 12th of next month, while Mr. Sharma will stay on as an advisor until the end of this year. A company statement said, Mr. Sharma is leaving to pursue other opportunities. The announcement comes just weeks after the credit ratings company downgraded the US rating from AAA to AA+, the first credit rating downgrade in U.S. history. The downgrade in credit rating was accompanied by an S&P report criticizing the US debt levels, political infighting and the raising of the debt ceiling.