Erin Callan: CFO As Media Celebrity

Posted by John Carney, May 19, 2008, 4:36pm

Erin Callan Is Smart And Beautiful.jpgThe Wall Street Journal ran a profile over the weekend of Erin Callan, the 42-year old chief financial officer of Lehman Brothers, just in time for the six months semi-versary of her promotion to the c-suite. Many on Wall Street were skeptical of Callan stepping into the role. She started out with several strikes against her: she started her career as a lawyer, she has very little formal hardcore financial accounting experience and her frequent appearances on television had led many to suspect she was more of an extremely well-paid spokesperson than a hands-on executive. Oh, and there's this whole women-on-Wall Street thing too.

More after the jump.


According to the Journal she seems to be overcoming those challenges. Susanne Craig writes that Callan is "emerging as a galvanizing force at Lehman and a finance chief who topples much of the conventional wisdom about CFOs."

But there are also some warning signs. "She receives a slimmer daily financial summary than her predecessors, relying more on data from the trading-floor contacts built during her 13-year Lehman career," Craig writes.

"We have a lot of great finance people here," she says. "In the CFO seat in this environment, I find it is important to be able to look at the sum total of the information quickly and test conclusions as well as read the reports on my desk."

That sounds like the kind of management-by-delegation that has gotten a bad reputation on Wall Street over the past couple of years. It's seen as one of the roots of the downfall of Bear Stearns.

Is she getting a bad wrap as being more of a media star than an CFO star? We've come across Callan a couple of times, and she seems extremely smart. She started as a lawyer, but she was a tax lawyer. Those are usually the smartest people at law firms.* And we're impressed by her blue-collar roots: her father was a police man. This isn't someone who has come up through family connections.

Oh, and we know we're totally not supposed to say this kind of thing, but if there isn't a rule that says any article about Callan needs to include a picture of her in a skirt--well, there should be.

*Note: DealBreaker editor John Carney was an M&A and finance lawyer. But he did really well in the tax classes in law school, and totally could have been a tax lawyer if he wanted too. No, really, he could have.

Lehman's Straight Shooter [Wall Street Journal]

5Recommend this! 54Comments
Posted in: CFOs, Lehman
Tags: Erin Callan

Comments

Posted by guest, May 19, 2008 5:02PM

Does the c-suite come with access to the company boat...the seaward?

Posted by Lowly Assistant, May 19, 2008 5:14PM

Carney, you may have the intellect, but you're far too much of a social-butterfly for the gig. Too much pro bono stuff, as well. You don't seem like the caring type.

Posted by guest, May 19, 2008 6:01PM

Well obviously, she has to be a lightweight "spokesperson" who doesn't get the details of financial accounting. I mean, she's a woman after all, right? We all know woman aren't so good with numbers.

Posted by Novice, May 19, 2008 6:49PM

6:01, I quite like your comment. Would you be free to dine with Larry Summers and myself?

Posted by guest, May 19, 2008 6:58PM

hit dat sheeeet

Posted by counterclockwise, May 19, 2008 7:50PM

Callan is known as being "frank, fashionable." Meredith Whitney jokes that Callan is "the best accessorized CFO on Wall Street." Hey, gag me with a spoon.

I'm hoping that Callan was naive when she posed in a knee-length skirt with her legs crossed at the knee and very visible. We've had two Supreme Court justices who managed to get through media scrutiny without discussing their fashion choices or displaying their legs, and they went on to become outstanding jurists.

Why is there such a disconnect between Wall Street and other parts of society?

I hope for Callan's sake she does lower her profile, conducts herself with dignity, and doesn't allow herself to be trivialized by a media and peers who reduce everything to the lowest common denominator.

Posted by guest, May 19, 2008 8:50PM

Two? Are you actually trying to count Ginsburg the crazy hippie amongst 'outstanding jurists'?

Posted by Riskybusiness, May 19, 2008 9:38PM

I think counterclockwise was speaking of Warren Burger. He was constantly flaunting his physical traits to articulate his minority opinions.

Posted by guest, May 19, 2008 10:55PM

She has nice legs, but her face is a bit busted so I'd like to show her the spiderman. POW right in the kisser!

Posted by counterclockwise, May 19, 2008 11:08PM

Guest@8:50pm - Well, actually, yes, I was counting Ginsburg as an "outstanding jurist." I don't think you can call her a "crazy hippie." For one thing, she was born in 1933 - really not the right age to be a former "hippie." Nothing she's ever done suggest she's "crazy." You may not like her politics, but she does write well and her personal and public conduct is impeccable. She wrote the classic reference on the law of racial and sexual discrimination, so in comparison to her fellow justices, she is a scholar of the first rank. She attended both Harvard Law and Columbia Law, and tied for first in class when graduating from Columbia Law. She was recommended for the Supreme Court by both Senator Orrin Hatch and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Posted by guest, May 19, 2008 11:41PM

Erin is freakin hot! Is she single?

singleguyncharlotte.

yes, we have computers down here, lol.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 12:07AM

cc@7:50pm & @11:08pm,

While I do not agree with your assessment of ACLU Ginsburg, I do concur with your observations of Callan.

The intoxicating effect of high-profile status will probably cause her to follow in the path of one Carly Fiorina, ex-CEO of H-P.

We'll read about Erin's downfall after she gets blamed for some disaster because she was not minding the store. She'll be the scapegoat. Out on her ass.

Good riddance too. Those shoes look like shit. Just like witches' shoes, pointed toes and all. Knees should be kept covered. That "trollop look" will keep her in good stead for only so long.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 12:12AM

The article said that she started in M&A at Skadden (?) before moving to LB. And quoted her personal shopper at Bergdorf's. Very impressive combo of brains and style. I would say sort of typical for a NY woman at the top of the game. Also, the daughter of a NYC policeman, which makes it all even more interesting.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 12:13AM

Have we forgotten Zoe from only a few weeks ago? Can't remember her last name. Can't remember who she worked for either.

I do remember that Zoe was on a roll right up until the wheels suddenly fell off.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 12:18AM

There was another pic of her in Institutional Investor this week. Shes quite the fashion plate, which is unsettling to everyone. Why? Re Ms. Fiorina, she was by most accounts poised and pretty but an empty suit. With a publicist no less. I dont get that vibe here.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 12:26AM

Guest@12:18PM,

Too much face time on TV, too much fashion, too much delegating of responsibility, and too little emphasis on her CFO job is not a good recipe for her long-term prospects at LEH.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 7:20AM

funny. i didnt know Meredith whitney had a thing for chicks.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 7:32AM

Gentlemen, try to realize that she's already gotten to the top, without your helpful advice on how long her skirt should be, or how to balance TV time with office time. Perhaps it's time to re-evaluate your own wardrobe.

Plus, this isn't some middle-America CFO that has to look pretty and demure in her pearls and stockings in order not to threaten her corn-fed bosses. It's Lehman (almost made a typo on that h), global, aggressive, hot-and-they-know-it (or at least they think they are). Who knows, the next Wall Street CFO could be wearing a burkha.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 9:06AM

@ 7:20 Meredith Whitney is a dude. Look at her jawline and brow.

@ counterclock. Your mama wears panty's with a D hole in em.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 9:44AM

I'd hit it

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 9:46AM

guest@7:32AM,

"She's already gotten to the top"? CFO - the top?

Dude, Zoe was "at the top" too until "the wheels suddenly fell off" a few weeks back. (The "wheels" bit is borrowed from @12:13am)

You sound like a eunich who works for Erin.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 9:50AM

I'd hit it

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 10:01AM

Guest@9:46am,

May I 'revise and extend' your third paragraph:

"a moslem eunich with a foot fetish who works for Erin so he can lick her pointy shoes". HaHaHa!!!

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 10:06AM

Face it guys, you're picturing her grinding that spiked heel into you as you grovel at her feet, offering up profits from your division and begging for mercy. And all the time trying to get a glance at what's between her legs, thinking Sharon Stone, which makes her even more angry.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 10:28AM

Hmmm...

The guest@10:06 seems to have some experience in this matter.

@10:06 - Tell us, on which end of the spiked heel are you?

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 10:33AM

@10:28 Anyone who offers profits up to the CFO, and presumably withholds a small portion of same, in order to make sure there will be no disappointment delivered down the road, has been there. If not literally, then at least figuratively.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 10:57AM

guest@10:33am,

Thank you for your comment, but you did not answer my question.

On which end of that spiked heel are you?

Posted by 36th Chamber, May 20, 2008 11:11AM

She was pretty brilliant as a trader and is just generally very smart. And while gay pimps and fat dead guys are great entertainment, there's still something to be said for showing a little leg.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 11:14AM

@10:57 I'm on the receiving end. Its not pretty.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 1:06PM

Someone should ask her about Austin Graham III...

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 2:17PM

Here's a link that will inspire all the eunichs on Wall St who slave under Erin's tutelage.

Just remember, things could be worse.

http://www12.kinghost.com/fetish/maturefuck/go/pic34.htm

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 3:30PM

I find it ridiculous how many of you are concentrating so much on what she is wearing instead of her smarts. It is impressive for anyone without daddy’s connection to rise up and become a CFO in Wall Street, especially a woman.

p.s Since when are men the ones to judge on what is fashionable and what is not?

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 3:40PM

Hear what you're saying about what we're concentrating on. Big part of the problem though is that the photo from the Saturday WSJ has been cropped so that it now only shows her legs. Sort of directing our mind to where you don't want it to be. So blame DB, not us.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 3:53PM

If shes a hard charging wall st exec, shouldnt she be half-coked up, and looking for sex in strip clubs?

How great would it be for her to get busted having sex at 3am in a subway staircase on 7th ave? Or having a hooker fetish and walking around 28th & Lex at 5am waving at cars?

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 4:00PM

@3:53

Is that your idea of an executive?
First year analyst are we?

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 4:15PM

I personally think her performance on our earnings call as well as on CNBC really helped save Lehman. She's clearly very smart and beautiful as well. Nobody cares if a male Wall St. exec is wearing a $5000 suit. I don't have a problem with her being attractive. Attractive only gets you so far and she clearly is FAR past that point. I like the fact that her dad was NYPD. Chances are he taught her some good old-fashioned street sense which has served her well.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 7:24PM

guest@9:46

Callan is at the top. Whether she becomes CEO is a roll of the dice, not as much based on her skills as on the whims of the markets. Cruz never made it this far, always a co-this and a co-that, or an acting president. She could sway but not dictate. You don't seem to understand the power and responsibility of a CFO in an investment bank in the middle of a credit crunch. Can't manage the cash? Not much else matters.

And she's 10 years younger than Cruz, so lots of time to rule them all. Interesting, too, two Harvard women.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 8:21PM

Both Harvard except Callan is law school, Cruz B school. Big diff. I've never met a person from Harvard B school that wasn't defective in some fatal way. Typically good at theory but not able to get things done. Works at Booz Allen and in brand management at P&G, but not other places. No such problem though with Harvard lawyers.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 10:51PM

@8;21, while I generally agree w. your analysis of both Harvard lawyers & Harvard B school, Callan is actually Harvard undergrad, NYU Law.

Posted by guest, May 20, 2008 11:30PM

8:21pm. Jamie Dimon went to Harvard B school. Gasparino just called him a giant among midgets. Is he a fatally flawed giant among midgets?

@10:51pm. Harvard undergrad and NYU law? Odd combination. Something went wrong for Callan in undergraduate school or on the LSATs. Well, she seems to have overcome it.

Posted by guest, May 21, 2008 3:03AM

Both were Harvard undergrads. WSJ said Callan has a magna cum laude, not too many of those around.

Posted by guest, May 21, 2008 8:25AM

I still have to ask though, if she takes it in the butt while squealing, "Spank me daddy!".

Posted by guest, May 21, 2008 9:19AM

@11:30 NYU Law is very highly ranked, so its not an odd combo.

Posted by guest, Jun 04, 2008 1:38PM

Plus, NYU did at that time, and still does, throw lots of cash at top students. No doubt she could have gone double H, but she got a great education for less debt, and had a lot more fun at NYU.

Posted by guest, Jun 04, 2008 9:39PM

First, Erin Callan is brilliant. Second, she is super chic. Stop with all this peti bs about her, she is an asset to Lehman.

Posted by guest, Jun 04, 2008 9:39PM

First, Erin Callan is brilliant. Second, she is super chic. Stop with all this peti bs about her, she is an asset to Lehman.

Posted by guest, Jun 05, 2008 8:25PM

one of the toughest jobs on wall street right now and she's doing it fantastically. listen to an earnings call if you need an education first hand.

anyway, she could've retired at 40 and would've acheived more in her career than these haters will ever dream of reaching.

Posted by merkin capital partners, Jun 12, 2008 9:12AM

oops.

Posted by guest, Jun 12, 2008 9:14AM

its okay we still have her upskirt photos.

Posted by guest, Jun 12, 2008 9:49AM

She's been demoted. Lehman just announced that Ian Lowitt will take over for Callan as CFO and "Callan will remain with Lehman in its investment banking division."

Posted by guest, Jun 12, 2008 11:17AM

She is brilliant. Brilliantly glowing once raked over the coals by Einhorn. BTW, Fiorina was too (BA Degree). McCain campaign is doomed!

Posted by guest, Jun 12, 2008 12:18PM

The longer the legs, the farther the fall!

Posted by guest, Jun 13, 2008 11:06PM

Its no surprise to me that she took the hit. Not because she's a woman, wears a skirt that goes above the knees, or she doesn't have what it takes to be the CFO. Its because she still has her soul and make the mistake of giving Einhorn the time of day. Sure, maybe a few other things added to it or there might be contributing circumstances none of us know about but from everything that's been said, and from what I've seen of her in videos..she comes across as a decent person. As someone else mentioned, I also like that her father was an NYPD officer. He obviously did a good job raising her.

Posted by guest, Jul 15, 2008 2:34PM

Erin Callan will be joining Credit Suisse as a Managing Director and Head of the Global Hedge Fund Business, effective September 2, 2008. Erin will be a member of the Investment Bank Management Committee and the Global Client Steering Committee.

Post Your Comment