It looks like it’s Merrill Lynch that is nabbing New York Stock Exchange chief executive John Thain.
The New York Post has just reported that Merrill is expected to announce that it has hired Thain to replace ousted CEO Stan O’Neal sometime this afternoon. Zach Kouwe, whose reporting has scooped the world on this story, attributes it to “people familiar with the matter.”
An NYSE board meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. today and an announcement could come after the market closes, sources said. The move is a huge coup for Merrill and board member Alberto Cribiore, who has led the search for a new CEO after O’Neal resigned on Oct. 30.
Kouwe also reports that Citi wanted Thain but he chose the smaller, more narrowly focussed Merrill instead. The Post describes this as a “snub” for Citi. NYSE Chief Operating Officer Duncan Niederauer is expected to land the top job at the exchange.
Citi Snub: Thain Going To Merrill [New York Post]
Update 12:32: The Wall Street Journal files its report also: “John Thain, CEO of NYSE Euronext, has agreed to take the top post at brokerage house Merrill Lynch & Co., according to a person familiar with the matter.”
Update 12:39: Congratulations and thanks to all our readers who voted in this morning’s reader poll, which correctly called that John Thain would leave the NYSE for Merrill. We’re constantly gratified by the amazing accuracy of our polls, which have predicted everything from the level of Fed rate cuts to this news. We like to think we have the best informed, most intelligent readers but it’s nice to see you guys prove it over and over again.
Update 12:50: So what happened to Blackrock chief Larry Fink, the man many thought would eventually be Stan O’Neal replacement? Did he turn the job down? Was the board’s enthusiasm for him exaggerated? Some fear of subprime contagion? Loyalty to Blackrock?
Update 1:06: CNBC’s Charlie Gasparino says that Fink was offered the job, but he spooked the Merrill board by demanding a full-accounting of Merrill’s subprime exposure. This led the board to go in another direction, perhaps out of fear that Fink might turn down the job if the subprime exposure was too bad.
Update 2:01: The Journal confirms that the stock exchange will name
Duncan Niederaueras its new CEO.
Not the best move. Fink should have gotten the nod.
Stanley got replaced by a real cracker.
old man merrill, that’s absurd. i’m certain the board tapped thain for the position by seeing how fluent he was in sailing terms.
How are the Vinnys taking the news?
Anon, excellent point. It always helps to have a member of Bushwood at the helm
Carney you’re a bit more tolerable when you’re not being so obseqious.
“We like to think we have the best informed, most intelligent readers but it’s nice to see you guys prove it over and over again”
these guys ALREADY think they’re all that, they don’t need you to pump their egos with more air …
obsequious .. corrected spelling
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/obsequious
You miss the point. Carney’s not being obsequious. He’s bragging. He’s genuinely proud he’s got all these big shot readers, and he probably markets that to advertisers.
actually, DB readership needs the hot air. Lord knows they don’t get it from anyone but Carney
Banking girl I stand corrected.
u are 100% right
I’m just so used to hearing guys w/ the attitude “Enough about me, what do YOU think of me??”
anon and girl, you both speak as if youre not both part of the “readership”
anyway, anyone wanna visit the thain compound in rye and harass his hot daughter?
You don’t have to work at the Enrico Fermi Jet Propulsion Neurosurgical Center to make certain financial industry predictions.
So does that mean that Merrill has NOT done anything remotely close to a full accounting of its subprime exposure?
Methinks this smells a tad fishy, and its not just the brakish water down @ WFC
Jeez….he went to MIT and HBS !! What is the over/under in terms of days until implosion?
Hopefully the new CEO is gonna clean the place. He must get rid of top management all together and start afresh! The culture has a tendency for fraud and bias!
Hopefully the new CEO is gonna clean the place. He must get rid of top management all together and start afresh! The culture has a tendency for fraud and bias!
thier prop side is top notch (atleast on equity side), probability will bail out as soon as bonuses are paid out
Chuck Prince is going to the NYSE
Could you please include more detailed directions on future polls. I couldn’t figure out how to vote?
Thanks in advance.
He looks like Superman
Thain of Cowder!!! Macbeth doth murder speak…Out damn Subprime spot!!!
Macbeth doth murder SPEAK, but very good all the same 2:22
SLEEP, i meant sleep, duh.
whatever, he didn’t have a shot at Citi anyway.
and when are you guys going to write about amaranth suing jpm
2:22 had a liberal arts education. Good for him/her.
2:52 for the love of God please don’t start that one again.
nah, i posted a link to the article this morning, apparently nobody cares
fucking idiots…they wrote about jpm/amaranth this morning in opening bell: http://www.dealbreaker.com/2007/11/opening_bell_111407.php#more
btw I’m loving this line from the WSJ article illustrating Thain’s sheer brilliance:
“As a child growing up, he assembled a Heathkit radio for his mother.”
I used to perform open heart surgery playing “Operation” when i was like, 2. I hope Citi will take that into consideration…
in high school I rolled a mean J. Does that put me in contention for a job at Bear?
anon 3:22, hilarious.
Over on Fox Business, Liz has on a really nice blue, thin sweater. I hope Buffett is watching.
Over on Fox Business, Liz has on a really nice blue, thin sweater. I hope Buffett is watching.
Watching him in CNBC. Wish he had a deeper voice.
Weren’t the Nobels at LTCM brilliant? “Brilliant” people have destroyed more capital this year than at any other time. So, like, wouldn’t “brilliant” be sort of a warning moniker?
3:22….that may get you a job at Bear but you sound like POTUS material.