Callan Out As Lehman's CFO
Lehman said Callan will be replaced by Ian Lowitt, formerly co-chief administrative officer.
June 12, 2008
There’ll be no high-five on this news.
Lehman Brothers, struggling under the weight of persistent speculation that it may be in deeper trouble than it is letting on, Thursday reshuffled some of its senior management team, a rejiggering that included the demotion of its of-late-high-profile CFO, Erin Callan.
Lehman said Callan will be replaced by Ian Lowitt, formerly co-chief administrative officer. Meanwhile, Lehman said Herbert “Bart” McDade III will take over as president and chief operating officer, succeeding Joseph Gregory. McDade has been the global head of the firm's equities division since 2005.
Callan will rejoin Lehman’s investment banking unit in a “senior capacity,” and Gregory will also reportedly stay with the firm.
"Bart, who has been my partner for 25 years and has proven himself to be the firm's best operator, is the right individual to take on this responsibility and lead the firm to the next level,” said Lehman chairman and chief executive, Richard Fuld Jr. “His experience in both fixed income and equities capital markets will benefit the firm, especially during these challenging times."
McDade served as global head of the fixed income division from 2002 to 2005 and as co-head from 2000 to 2002. He joined Lehman 1983 in corporate bond trading and was named head of the corporate bond department in 1991. In 1998, he was named global head of debt capital markets in the investment banking division.
In his role as co-CAO, Lowitt was responsible for the global oversight of finance, operations and risk management, among other things.
Callan has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence since taking over as CFO last December, with some media speculation that she could someday be the first woman CEO of a major Wall Street bank. A recent Wall Street Journal profile on Callan quoted Gregory as saying Lehman made a "leap" when it named her CFO, but the bank wanted someone who could "really explain Lehman's story." The same story relayed how she high-fived a trading executive after a contentious earnings conference call with analysts in March, and later that day received a standing ovation from bond traders for her performance on the call.
Shares of Lehman, which have been hammered in recent days, fell by another 6% early Thursday before reversing with the broader market. On Monday, the company came to the market for another $6 billion, via a convertible stock offering.
Find out more information about people mentioned in this article from our People Database:
Erin Callan
Richard Fuld, Jr.
Joseph Gregory
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