So, we were a little surprised to find out that Ken Lewis actually sat for an interview with the Financial Times yesterday, since based on the quotes that made it to print, it pretty much came off as though he'd drunk dialed the paper up out of the blue and just started rambling. Surely his relative coherence was due to the magic of multiple takes, but still, we thought, props to KL for giving the illusion of being sober. Then we got to ten minutes deep, and the wheels started coming off:
FT: Vikram Pandit seemed to find one response to these [compensation] limits by just saying fine, I'll take a dollar a year. Have you ever been tempted to go that route?
Lewis: No I didn't get a nice bundle by selling my hedge fund to Bank of America, [he he he] so we're in a little different in that sense. [No, kidding. Nothin' but love for my pal Pandit. He's my brotha from anotha motha, you know. But seriously? Old Lane? Can I get soma that? Scalawag! I hate Merrill Lynch. I love Merrill Lynch. The government made me do it. We made the decision on our own two feet. Where am I?]
Ken Lewis Is A Movie Producer Now*
If it feels like it's been forever since we've heard from Ken Lewis it's because it has. Following his retirement in 2009, the former Bank of America CEO went underground to do some soul-searching. To figure out what made Kenneth D. Lewis tick. Did he want to want to be a CEO of another company? Did he want to get involved in another industry entirely? Did he want to grow a beard again? Did he want to be a shepherd? These are the questions that needed answers and today, finally, we've got some. No word on the beard but it appears that for now, Lewis is staying away from Wall Street and pursuing another passion: the movie business.