Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Who will be the next CEO of Merrill Lynch

“Contenders in the running for Stan O’Neal job at Merrill's”




Gregory Fleming


The co-president of Merrill Lynch is well liked in the group and was a key architect of its takeover of BlackRock. He made his name at Merrill doing financial deals, such as the $14.5 billion merger between Wachovia and First Union. However, he does not have the operational experience of running a large investment bank

Laurence Fink

The king of Wall Street’s chief executive shortlist, Mr Fink has previously been viewed as a key contender for the top jobs at Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Mr Fink runs the BlackRock investment firm, which is 49 per cent-owned by Merrill Lynch. It has extensive interests in mortgage-backed bonds, the main source of the group’s woes and in which it has lost a number of senior executives

John Thain

The chief executive of Euronext NYSE would appear to be the top external candidate for the job. He is a well-regarded chief executive with experience running a big company on Wall Street. He is also a former president of Goldman Sachs, one of the most formidable operations in the financial world

Bob McCann

As head of Merrill’s brokerage unit, Mr McCann has not been tainted by the bond fiasco and retains his credibility. He is well liked within the firm, although he does not have Mr Fink’s deep knowledge of the bond market

Source: Times

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