Reuters – John Thain, the Merrill Lynch & Co Inc chief executive who engineered the firm’s sale to Bank of America Corp, will head investment banking, securities and wealth management at the new company — at least for now.
But analysts don’t expect Thain, who has now led two major Wall Street companies, to remain in his new job for long. They expect him to aim to succeed Bank of America (BAC.N) Chief Executive Ken Lewis, 61, or seek a CEO job elsewhere.
"The fact is that he’s a CEO — he’s not going to stay long," said Greg Donaldson, director of portfolio strategy at Donaldson Capital Management in Evansville, Indiana.
Thain, 53, was previously CEO at NYSE Euronext Inc (NYX.N) and before that was president and chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N).
