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Thain to Take Top Job at Merrill
[FONT=times new roman,times,serif][FONT=times new roman,times,serif]By AARON LUCCHETTI
November 14, 2007 12:54 p.m.
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John Thain, CEO of NYSE Euronext, has agreed to take the top post at brokerage house Merrill Lynch, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The move is somewhat unexpected as many insiders on Wall Street were speculating Merrill Lynch's board would tap BlackRock Inc. CEO Larry Fink. NYSE's board was planning to meet on the matter today and an announcement is expected as early as this afternoon, this person added.
With the move, Merrill has chosen an ex-Goldman Sachs Group executive that remade the Big Board into a public company and has deep knowledge of technology and operations on Wall Street. Mr. Thain has never led a giant brokerage force like Merrill's however. The white-shoe Goldman, where Mr. Thain spent more than 20 years, never focused on brokers that dealt with the masses.
Mr. Thain has spent many years on the mortgage bond desks of Wall Street, a key skill considering that many of the billions of dollars in losses are now focused in bonds and the housing market. Mr. Thain worked on the mortgage bond desk of Goldman before becoming president of the firm after a series of promotions.
Mr. Thain was also rumored to be considering the top job at Citigroup to fill the spot of former Chairman and CEO Chuck Prince. But Mr. Thain has remarked in the past that he wasn't that interested in the Citi job, viewing it as a very difficult management challenge, according to people familiar with the matter.
Some thought Mr. Thain would still lean toward Citigroup, considering that the firm has a big international presence, something Mr. Thain pushed hard for at the NYSE when it bought European exchange operator Euronext NV. Mr. Thain also forged alliances over the years with Robert Rubin, previously Goldman's co-chairman and now a senior executive at Citigroup.
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i thought he had a good thing going at the Big Board. i hope NYSE will continue growing strategically.
[FONT=times new roman,times,serif][FONT=times new roman,times,serif]By AARON LUCCHETTI
November 14, 2007 12:54 p.m.
[/FONT] [/FONT]
John Thain, CEO of NYSE Euronext, has agreed to take the top post at brokerage house Merrill Lynch, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The move is somewhat unexpected as many insiders on Wall Street were speculating Merrill Lynch's board would tap BlackRock Inc. CEO Larry Fink. NYSE's board was planning to meet on the matter today and an announcement is expected as early as this afternoon, this person added.
Mr. Thain has spent many years on the mortgage bond desks of Wall Street, a key skill considering that many of the billions of dollars in losses are now focused in bonds and the housing market. Mr. Thain worked on the mortgage bond desk of Goldman before becoming president of the firm after a series of promotions.
Mr. Thain was also rumored to be considering the top job at Citigroup to fill the spot of former Chairman and CEO Chuck Prince. But Mr. Thain has remarked in the past that he wasn't that interested in the Citi job, viewing it as a very difficult management challenge, according to people familiar with the matter.
Some thought Mr. Thain would still lean toward Citigroup, considering that the firm has a big international presence, something Mr. Thain pushed hard for at the NYSE when it bought European exchange operator Euronext NV. Mr. Thain also forged alliances over the years with Robert Rubin, previously Goldman's co-chairman and now a senior executive at Citigroup.
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i thought he had a good thing going at the Big Board. i hope NYSE will continue growing strategically.