Category Archives: leadership

Vikram Pandit is Still a Robot

Posted on January 14, 2009 by Felix

Did you really think that Vikram Pandit would really manage to leave Citigroup without topping his infamous memo from last June? His effort today includes one of the most astonishing sentences ever to emanate from a megabank CEO: We are … Continue reading →

Posted in banking, leadership | 1 Comment

The Parallel Universe of Leadership Events

Posted on September 25, 2008 by Felix

The World Business Forum is a two-day event; I only made the second afternoon. But even that was enough to almost make my head explode. I knew in theory that there’s an almost insatiable appetite for motivational speakers and leadership … Continue reading →

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In Search of Executive Economists

Posted on September 7, 2008 by Felix

Richard Baldwin has forgotten his Oxford comma: I was on panel with Alan Blinder, the CEO of Boston Consulting Group and the UAE trade minister. I’m glad he did, because the vision of Blinder — or any Nobel economics laureate … Continue reading →

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Why Citi Needs Rubin

Posted on August 26, 2008 by Felix

What is it with all these Citi memos which are coming out? There was the Asia reshuffle, the Markets reshuffle, the axing of the executive committee, and now the investment bank expenses memo. The weird thing is that all of … Continue reading →

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When Vikram met Jim

Posted on August 25, 2008 by Felix

The scene: Vikram Pandit’s office at 399 Park Avenue. Pandit is pacing uncomfortably in front of Sandy Weill’s old fireplace. Through the door enters Jim Forese, head of Citi’s capital markets group. Pandit: Jim. Have a seat. Forese: Mr Pandit. … Continue reading →

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Annals of Deckchair Rearrangement, Citigroup Asia Edition

Posted on August 18, 2008 by Felix

Tony Munroe of Reuters does his best today to report on the latest changes to the Citigroup Asia org chart, but it’s not an easy task — especially when the regional CEO, Ajay Banga, starts talking about bringing "the organizations … Continue reading →

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The Vocation of Leadership

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Felix

According to Dan Hesse, the CEO of Sprint, leadership is a vocation, and he’s certainly not doing it for the money. Kevin Maney asked him why he took the job, and he gave a very long answer. Here’s a chopped-down … Continue reading →

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Pandit: Still Going in Circles

Posted on August 13, 2008 by Felix

Gary Weiss profiles Vikram Pandit in this month’s magazine, and his conclusion seems spot-on: What Citigroup needs now is not a wannabe Sandy Weill but someone with the elusive qualities needed to revive the banking giant from its slump. Pandit’s … Continue reading →

Posted in banking, leadership | 1 Comment

How Long Will Rick Wagoner Last?

Posted on August 7, 2008 by Felix

Joe Nocera is taking to blogging like Steve Jobs took to turtlenecks: “Rick has the unified support of the entire board to a person,” the company’s lead outside director, George M.C. Fisher, told Bill Vlasic of The Times in an … Continue reading →

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Jimmy Cayne’s Latest Own-Goal

Posted on August 4, 2008 by Felix

Jimmy Cayne has been speaking at length with Fortune’s William Cohan, and has now managed to tell his side of the story. No wonder people don’t like him much: he comes across really badly even here. After reading the piece, … Continue reading →

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Hiring Alan Schwartz

Posted on August 1, 2008 by Felix

Dear John Thain is very upset that Alan Schwartz, the last CEO of Bear Stearns, might get a good job elsewhere, now that he’s decided not to stay at JP Morgan. Indeed, he says that offering a job to Schwartz … Continue reading →

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Yes, Vikram Pandit Is a Robot

Posted on June 30, 2008 by Felix

Yesterday, going on the strength of a WSJ op-ed, I wondered whether Vikram Pandit was actually a robot. Turns out that yes, he is. Bess Levin has an email he’s sent out to every single Citi employee: You may have … Continue reading →

Posted in banking, leadership | 1 Comment

Is Vikram Pandit a Robot?

Posted on June 29, 2008 by Felix

I’ll leave to others commentary on any substantive points which may or may not have been made in Vikram Pandit’s WSJ op-ed on Friday; I’m more interested in his use of language. Here’s his first and last paragraphs: If there … Continue reading →

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Annals of Pathetic CEO Communications, Moody’s Edition

Posted on May 23, 2008 by Felix

When a company runs into trouble, it turns to its chairman and CEO (if they are the same person) for leadership. If that person is someone like MBIA’s Jay Brown, he provides it, showing backbone and passion and clarity of … Continue reading →

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Bear Fight

Posted on May 7, 2008 by Felix

Landon Thomas has a wonderful piece, full of color, on the spat between Jimmy Cayne and Ace Greenberg. Boy can these multimillionaires get petty: Told that Mr. Cayne, with whom he worked for four decades, had lost much of his … Continue reading →

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Vikram Pandit’s Amazing Disappearing Hedge Fund

Posted on May 4, 2008 by Felix

Eric Dash reports that investors in Vikram Pandit’s Old Lane funds redeemed "substantially all" of their funds when they were given the opportunity in late March. Old Lane, which had $4.5 billion in funds under management last year, is now … Continue reading →

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Steve Ballmer, Fence-Sitter

Posted on May 1, 2008 by Felix

The WSJ is reporting that Microsoft’s board, having met to decide what to do about the Yahoo bid, has decided, um, not to decide what to do about the Yahoo bid. Instead it’s punting the decision back to Steve Ballmer, … Continue reading →

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Are You a Global Visionary?

Posted on March 4, 2008 by Felix

There’s nothing quite like wading through a pile of backed-up email after a long day of travelling. I get my fair share of vapid press releases, but the one I got at 1:36pm this afternoon is in a class of … Continue reading →

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Managers Without Morals

Posted on September 17, 2007 by Felix

Today comes news that newly-minted MBAs are making more money than ever before, which made it an excellent day for Princeton University Press to host a lunch in New York to plug Rakesh Khurana’s new book, "From Higher Aims to … Continue reading →

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Does Pregnancy Prevent Women Getting MBAs?

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Felix

Business schools should make more of an effort to accommodate mothers.
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When CEOs Don’t Meet Their Own Speechwriters

Posted on June 22, 2007 by Felix

According to an anonymous
speechwriter, CEOs can be inaccessible even to those
who are paid to write their very thoughts.
Continue reading →

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