Thain's most recent hire, Thomas Montag, comes from Goldman to run Merrill's trading worldwide, according to a Bloomberg story. Although the Montag news received wide attention amongst blogs like Dealbreaker, which called the announcement "Becoming Goldman Sachs," it actually isn't the first time Thain has tapped a former colleague. In fact, Thain's first outside hires were poached from NYSE Euronext, where he was CEO prior to joining Merrill. Thain hired Nelson Chai of NYSE Euronext as Merrill's chief financial officer in December 2007 while adding Margaret Tutwiler, also of NYSE Euronext, as head of global communications and public affairs at Merrill.
Merrill, like many of its Wall Street brethren, is scaling down its ranks but making changes at the top. Expect Thain to surround himself in the top with familiar lieutenants, because when you go to war on Wall Street you want people around you who have won battles with you in the past. - Gerald Magpily
See story from Bloomberg
See story from New York Times
See story from Dealbreaker
See Dealscape: Thain taps Chai as Merrill CFO
See Dealscape: Merrill Lynch's overseas expansion: New guy, old movie
See Dealwatch: Banks, write-downs and the CEO shuffle
Who better to hire for an available position than a former colleague you trust? That's what Merrill Lynch & Co. CEO John Thain is doing. He's filing in the ranks with old colleagues from his former workplaces -- namely Goldman, Sachs & Co.
