Dick Fuld, CEO of Lehman (LEH), may lose his jobs soon. Someone has to step in if the brokerage’s stock keeps falling. The company board knows that. Lehman’s COO and CFO has already been pushed out. The brokerage’s comments on its earnings call did not encourage investors. Fuld simply took responsibility for losses, but did not offer to pay back the billions of dollars he had lost stockholders.
Where does the firm turn?
The first place is Goldman Sachs (GS), where everyone else in the financial community looks for management. The company is considered the best run on Wall St. The most logical candidate there is Jon Winkelried. He is currently president and co-chief operating officer. The key piece of his resume is that he ran Goldman’s investment banking division.
The other financial firm which most investors still admire is JPMorgan (JPM). Since Jamie Dimon, the company’s CEO, is only 52, no one is likely to get promoted into his job soon. That may make it more likely that the people below him could leave. Steven Black, who co-CEO of the investment banking division, is probably the strongest candidate from the bank if Lehman needs a new chief.
The most likely "dark horse" candidate is former Morgan Stanley (MS) president, Zoe Cruz. She was let go at the investment bank, but many people believe that she was simply sacrificed by CEO John Mack to save his job. She was a senior exec at MS for years, and knows Wall St. well.
In the minds of his board, Fuld may already be gone, and the they may already be looking for his replacement.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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