Moody's President Announces Retirement
Spokesman says Clarkson was not pressured to leave.
May 8, 2008
Brian Clarkson will retire as president and chief operating officer of Moody's Investors Service in late July after 17 years with the rating agency.
"I feel the time is right for new leadership to drive forward the changes we've been making in recent months, and I am confident that Moody's and its people will continue to build on their strong leadership position," Clarkson said in a statement.
Michel Madelain, currently a Moody's executive vice president overseeing the global fundamental ratings business, will replace Clarkson as COO. Madelain will continue to be based in London. His present responsibilities include all global company and government ratings.
Raymond McDaniel, Moody's chairman and chief executive, said of Madelain in the announcement, "His expertise and leadership will help us build on the positive changes we've been making as we continue working to address challenges in the global credit markets."
Madelain commented in the release, "Moody's has undertaken a number of significant initiatives over the past year to enhance the quality of our analysis and further improve the usefulness of our credit ratings to investors. I am eager to work closely with Ray and the rest of the leadership team to expand on those efforts, while also helping the company navigate the difficult market conditions in which Moody's is operating."
Greg Jonas, a Moody's spokesman, told Reuters, "Rating agencies have been subject to a lot of criticisms. Some have been about the ratings themselves, and others have been about the rating agencies. Brian Clarkson concluded that in such an environment, it was a good time to turn the leadership over to someone new."
Jonas said the decision to retire was Clarkson's alone.
Madelain was an auditing practice partner at Ernst & Young before joining Moody's in 1994. Before his most recent position, he was a senior managing director in charge of global banking.
Last August, Deven Sharma replaced Kathleen Corbet as president of Standard & Poor's. S&P stated Corbet left "to pursue other opportunities."
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