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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Why the CEO Talent Pool Is So Small

As Citi, Merrill searches show, Wall Street is now a tough place to grow managers

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(Newser) – With Citigroup and Merrill Lynch both suddenly searching for new CEOs, the Wall Street Journal looks at why the list of contenders for the top jobs at Wall Street's biggest firms is so short. Start with an earn-or-die corporate culture, which taints talented chief executives who fail to deliver in short order, as well as division heads who tend to be sacrificed to an unhappy board when they have a bad quarter.

Both Charles Prince and Stan O'Neal purged their share of top executives, leaving Citigroup and Merrill to look outside for candidates. But finding outsiders to run financial conglomerates is tough, too—a candidate who has experience on, say, the investment side or the commercial banking side, but not both, may not be considered competent to lead their many enterprises.

Stanley O'Neal, Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co. is seen in New York in this Nov. 1, 2006 file photo. Merrill Lynch, the world's largest brokerage, said Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007 its embattled Chief Executive will retire, effective immediately. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano, file)
Stanley O'Neal, Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co. is seen in New York in this Nov. 1, 2006 file photo. Merrill Lynch, the world's largest brokerage, said Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007 its embattled Chief...   (Associated Press)
The Citibank logo is shown on a branch office in this April 11, 2007 file photo in New York. Citigroup Inc. said Monday, Oct. 15 its third-quarter profit dropped 57 percent after the biggest U.S. bank took a hit of more than $3 billion in mortgage-backed security losses, leveraged...
The Citibank logo is shown on a branch office in this April 11, 2007 file photo in New York. Citigroup Inc. said Monday, Oct. 15 its third-quarter profit dropped 57 percent after the biggest U.S. bank...   (Associated Press)
Japanese businessmen walk past a huge signboard of Citibank in Tokyo, Tuesday, March 20, 2007. In a sign of new openness in the world's second-largest economy, merger mania has gripped the nation and homegrown firms are now the hunted as well as the hunters. The 2,775 M&A deals in...
Japanese businessmen walk past a huge signboard of Citibank in Tokyo, Tuesday, March 20, 2007. In a sign of new openness in the world's second-largest economy, merger mania has gripped the nation and...   (Associated Press)
The Citigroup Center is shown on Monday, Nov. 5, 2007 in New York. Stocks fell but regained some ground Monday as a stronger-than-expected reading on the service economy mitigated concerns about soured debt that sprang from news of more Citigroup Inc. write-downs. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
The Citigroup Center is shown on Monday, Nov. 5, 2007 in New York. Stocks fell but regained some ground Monday as a stronger-than-expected reading on the service economy mitigated concerns about soured...   (Associated Press)
The Citigroup Center, left, is reflected in a neighboring building on Monday, Nov. 5, 2007 in New York. Stocks fell but regained some ground Monday as a stronger-than-expected reading on the service economy mitigated concerns about soured debt that sprang from news of more Citigroup Inc. write-downs. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
The Citigroup Center, left, is reflected in a neighboring building on Monday, Nov. 5, 2007 in New York. Stocks fell but regained some ground Monday as a stronger-than-expected reading on the service economy...   (Associated Press)
Citigroup CEO and chairman Charles Prince pauses before speaking during the 'Town Hall Meeting' at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in this Jan. 26, 2005 file photo. Charles Prince, beset by the banking company's billions of dollars in losses from investing in bad debt, reportedly agreed to resign...
Citigroup CEO and chairman Charles Prince pauses before speaking during the 'Town Hall Meeting' at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in this Jan. 26, 2005 file photo. Charles Prince, beset...   (Associated Press)
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