Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) CEO Ken Lewis wanted Merrill Lynch & Co.'s "thundering herd," but he's losing the driving force behind that herd over a culture clash.
Latest example: A Wall Street Journal reports says renowned rainmaker George H. "Woody" Young III is leaving.
Here's the big question: Will Lewis do something -- possibly in the way of compensation or higher placement within the firm -- to keep these well connected profit hounds? We'll have to wait and see.
It was just two years ago that Young abruptly departed Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. after disagreements with then-CEO Dick Fuld over his status. Later, in September 2008, just before the BofA-Merrill deal and Lehman's bankruptcy, Young arrived at Merrill's New York office as global head of technology, media and telecommunications investment banking. He had to wait for his Lehman noncompetition clause to run out. According to The Deal's Pipeline research tool, after only a month at Merrill, Young took the lead advisory role helping CenturyTel Inc. on its $11.6 billion acquisition of larger rival Embarq Corp.
As we noted earlier in March, the rush to the exits at Merrill Lynch is not quite as massive a flow as the exodus from Bear, Stearns Cos. and Lehman Brothers bankers The Deal has covered, but since Merrill Lynch's takeover by BofA, more than a few notable rainmakers have headed for greener pastures.
Some notables Lewis has seen head for the door include Greg Fleming -- who, on Merrill's behalf, brokered the BofA acquisition -- and Robert McCann, once leader of the prized brokerage unit.
The bankers are especially hard to hold on to as government bailout money has brought scrutiny to their now-shrinking bonuses. But if you have talent -- and connections -- you have options in finance.
Going back to January, our archives have quite a few more big-name defectors. Since that March 12 post, Lewis has lost more BofA- and Merrill-bred bankers:
- SMH Capital Markets brought in Sylvia Barnes as a managing director and group head of its energy investment banking practice, based in Houston. Barnes was a managing director at Merrill's energy investing banking practice;
- Moelis & Co. hired Stan Holtz as a managing director in Chicago to lead its telecom sector coverage. At BofA, Holtz was head of U.S. telecom investment banking;
- Carmel Partners Inc. tapped Quinn Barton as a managing partner in charge of both performing and distressed debt acquisition. He head its new office in New York. Barton spent nearly five years at BofA, where he was a managing director and head of CMBS trading;
- Chief investment strategist Richard Bernstein and chief North America economist David Rosenberg are leaving Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research. Twenty-year Merrill veteran Bernstein will leave on April 15 to pursue other opportunities, while nine-year ML veteran Rosenberg will leave on May 11. BofA is searching for replacements. Returning to Toronto, Rosenberg is joining wealth management firm Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc. as chief economist and strategist;
- BofA's head of equity sales for the Americas, Brennan Warble, said he's retiring;
- Nomura Holdings Inc. hired Andrea Pellegrini as co-chairman for Italy and head of investment banking. At BofA-Merrill, he was he was chairman of the public sector group for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and head of investment banking for Italy;
- Thomas Davidson said he's leaving for Credit Suisse Group. In June, Davidson will co-head the healthcare group in the Americas alongside Stuart Smith;
- BMO Capital Markets brought in Christopher Donohoe as a managing director in its financial institutions group. Donohoe had been a senior investment banker with BofA;
- Credit Suisse also hired Jonathan Grundy to head its energy business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He will join the London office in July. Grundy was global head of energy and power investment banking at BofA-Merrill;
- Cowen Group Inc. hired Grant Miller for its capital markets group as a managing director. He was an ECM managing director at BofA Securities; and
- Mary Joan Hoene, an investment management and securities lawyer, joined Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP in New York as counsel in its corporate practice. As independent fund chief compliance officer at BofA, she was responsible for establishing a compliance program for four fund families aggregating more than $200 billion in assets, following the bank's merger with FleetBoston Financial Corp.
- Baz Hiralal
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