Thain has decided to give up a peaceful life in search of adventure; with some sense of purpose. Read his lips...
History books are filled with instances of warriors who’ve chosen the noisy warfronts over their peaceful homes. But how about a CEO abdicating his well-cushioned throne in a smoothly running company for a disaster-struck company?! Well, we have found exactly that in John Thain, the current CEO of NYSE-Euronext, who is all set to take charge as the Chairman & CEO, Merrill Lynch & Co. on December 1, 2007.
So the question really is: Can Thain steer the $47 billion
grief-stricken financial behemoth Merrill Lynch to shore? Well, the turnaround duty of restoring honour & pride in the face of the recent Q3 2007 financial setback of net losses amounting to $2.41 billion (the biggest loss ever in its long history of 93 years), a write-down of $8.4 billion and the drop in quarterly revenues by 35.2% to just $14.9 billion in the background of the $900 billion subprime meltdown, appears no less than a Herculean task. Answering this question, however, Alberto Cribiore, interim non-executive Chairman, Merrill Lynch, confidently replies, “John Thain is the right person as he brings unparalleled leadership experience & knowledge of the complexities of global capital markets as well as the skills required to operate a large financial services company. He will be adept at balancing the focus on risk management and controls while taking the steps necessary to ensure the company evolves and grows.”
Born on May 26, 1955, in Antoich, Illinois, Thain is married to Carmen and is blessed with a son, Alex. He graduated from MIT with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1977 and then completed his MBA from Harvard. John was associated with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for 22 years, serving as the President & COO, when he left. He also held the position of co-CEO for European operations for Goldman. In 2004, with the disgraced departure of Richard Grasso, Thain joined NYSE as its CEO to breathe some life into the company & successfully implemented the system of electronic trading at NYSE through the acquisition of electronic trading platform Archipelago Holdings Inc..
With a track record of transforming NYSE into the world’s first truly global exchange via the purchase of $14.4 billion of Paris-based Euronext, Thain brought about the first trans-atlantic stock exchange – some achievement during a short tenure of under half-a-decade, and enough to prove what this seasoned commander is capable of achieving. With Merrill Lynch expected to take upto a further $10 billion in losses for the ongoing quarter (Q4 2007), he has to reassess Merrill’s risk management procedures, which miserably failed in assessing the bank’s exposure to risky lendings in the past. He also has to steer clear of putting his foot into the well of collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), which stood devalued due to the crippling sub-prime mortgage disaster. And surely, Thain’s toughest task is to reassure investors and his employees that Merrill’s remaining CDO portfolio will be handled expertly & that the recent mistakes will not be repeated as long he remains. Undoubtedly, Thain will have to use his magic wand to fix the company’s fixed income division, a department he was well acquainted with while at Goldman in the 1990s.
He is a modest man who is not ashamed in revealing his not-so-glossy background as he asserts, “I did not grow up in an upper-crust, aristocratic background.” So on the brighter side, this man needs no reminder that these are literally non-aristocratic & humble times for the giant named Merrill Lynch, and he is precisely the leader it needs. This turnaround artist has to curb all natural forces to restore lost pride and glory to Merrill. In this mission, his undying passion for wrestling might come in very handy.
History books are filled with instances of warriors who’ve chosen the noisy warfronts over their peaceful homes. But how about a CEO abdicating his well-cushioned throne in a smoothly running company for a disaster-struck company?! Well, we have found exactly that in John Thain, the current CEO of NYSE-Euronext, who is all set to take charge as the Chairman & CEO, Merrill Lynch & Co. on December 1, 2007.
So the question really is: Can Thain steer the $47 billion
grief-stricken financial behemoth Merrill Lynch to shore? Well, the turnaround duty of restoring honour & pride in the face of the recent Q3 2007 financial setback of net losses amounting to $2.41 billion (the biggest loss ever in its long history of 93 years), a write-down of $8.4 billion and the drop in quarterly revenues by 35.2% to just $14.9 billion in the background of the $900 billion subprime meltdown, appears no less than a Herculean task. Answering this question, however, Alberto Cribiore, interim non-executive Chairman, Merrill Lynch, confidently replies, “John Thain is the right person as he brings unparalleled leadership experience & knowledge of the complexities of global capital markets as well as the skills required to operate a large financial services company. He will be adept at balancing the focus on risk management and controls while taking the steps necessary to ensure the company evolves and grows.”Born on May 26, 1955, in Antoich, Illinois, Thain is married to Carmen and is blessed with a son, Alex. He graduated from MIT with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1977 and then completed his MBA from Harvard. John was associated with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for 22 years, serving as the President & COO, when he left. He also held the position of co-CEO for European operations for Goldman. In 2004, with the disgraced departure of Richard Grasso, Thain joined NYSE as its CEO to breathe some life into the company & successfully implemented the system of electronic trading at NYSE through the acquisition of electronic trading platform Archipelago Holdings Inc..
With a track record of transforming NYSE into the world’s first truly global exchange via the purchase of $14.4 billion of Paris-based Euronext, Thain brought about the first trans-atlantic stock exchange – some achievement during a short tenure of under half-a-decade, and enough to prove what this seasoned commander is capable of achieving. With Merrill Lynch expected to take upto a further $10 billion in losses for the ongoing quarter (Q4 2007), he has to reassess Merrill’s risk management procedures, which miserably failed in assessing the bank’s exposure to risky lendings in the past. He also has to steer clear of putting his foot into the well of collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), which stood devalued due to the crippling sub-prime mortgage disaster. And surely, Thain’s toughest task is to reassure investors and his employees that Merrill’s remaining CDO portfolio will be handled expertly & that the recent mistakes will not be repeated as long he remains. Undoubtedly, Thain will have to use his magic wand to fix the company’s fixed income division, a department he was well acquainted with while at Goldman in the 1990s.
He is a modest man who is not ashamed in revealing his not-so-glossy background as he asserts, “I did not grow up in an upper-crust, aristocratic background.” So on the brighter side, this man needs no reminder that these are literally non-aristocratic & humble times for the giant named Merrill Lynch, and he is precisely the leader it needs. This turnaround artist has to curb all natural forces to restore lost pride and glory to Merrill. In this mission, his undying passion for wrestling might come in very handy.
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