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Risk Management

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Justin Grant
Justin Grant
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Wall Street Titans Rebound From High Profile Failures

What do Stan O'Neal, Tony Hayward and Jeffrey Peek have in common besides running multibillion-dollar corporations into the ground?

What do Stan O'Neal, Tony Hayward and Jeffrey Peek have in common besides running multibillion-dollar corporations into the ground? Instead of slinking off into the shadows after leaving their lofty posts in disgrace, each of them landed an influential new gig at another firm. U.S. News points out that after wrecking Merrill Lynch with aggressive bets on subprime mortgages and high-risk derivatives, O'Neal moved on to the board of directors at Alcoa.

Meanwhile Hayward, who left his role as CEO of BP with his reputation in tatters last year, has raised more than $2 billion in a public offering for his new U.K.-based energy firm Vallares, the report said. And former CIT Group CEO Peek, whose firm accepted $2.3 billion in federal bailout money due to bad subprime investments, now finds himself as one of Barclay's top investment bankers, U.S. News adds.

From U.S. News:

Martin Sullivan, former CEO of AIG. Sullivan replaced longtime AIG chief Hank Greenburg in 2005, and presided over many of the decisions that led to the insurance giant's collapse in 2008, the year he was forced out. Under Sullivan's watch, for instance, AIG issued billions of dollars' worth of insurance on highly risky mortgage-related derivatives, which left AIG seeking the biggest bailout in corporate history when those derivatives plunged in value and AIG was unable to honor its commitments.

Where he is now: British insurance firm Willis Group named Sullivan its deputy chairman last year and put him in charge of a new global-services division. Research site Footnoted.com reports that Sullivan will earn a base salary of $750,000 and be eligible for a 2011 bonus of more than $1 million. If he stays for three years, he'll also be able to cash in company stock worth at least another $4 million.

John Thain, former CEO of Merrill Lynch. Thain's illustrious Wall Street career seemed impeccable until he replaced Stan O'Neal as Merrill Lynch's CEO in 2007. Thain tried in vain to keep Merrill's losses under control, finally guiding the crippled firm into the arms of Bank of America in 2008. That may have been inevitable, but Thain drew criticism for several events under his watch, including a million-dollar renovation of his office (which he ultimately paid for himself) and $3.6 billion in bonuses granted to Merrill bankers during a year in which the firm nearly collapsed and required federal bailout money to survive. Thain, once thought to be a contender for the top job at the new Bank of America, was instead forced out of the merged firm in early 2009.

Where he is now: A year after Thain left Merrill Lynch, Wall Street's revolving door ushered him into the top job at CIT, which had emerged from a prepackaged bankruptcy. His pay at CIT: $6 million per year in cash and stock, plus an annual bonus of up to $1.5 million.

As the Senior Editor of Advanced Trading, Justin Grant plays a key role in steering the magazine's coverage of the latest issues affecting the buy-side trading community. Since joining Advanced Trading in 2010, Grant's news analysis has touched on everything from the latest ... View Full Bio
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