Sallie Krawcheck for CEO
Here we are again with another opportunity for a woman to take the helm of one of our major corporations. Sallie Krawcheck was named to run the brokerage arm of Bank of America back in August and seems to be doing a stellar job of rallying the herd by "bringing back the bull". Now it is rumored that she may be first in line for the CEO position at Bank of America. However, she is already being dismissed by some in the media before she's even been offered the job! My guess is that if she gets the job, she'll be forced out as soon as she's cleaned up all of the messes that were left and promptly be succeeded by "one of the guys" who will sweep in and graciously accept all of the credit. Have we already forgotten about Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard? She never stood a chance.
Sallie has done one heck of a job to stay above the fray and survive the disasters of the past couple of years. In yesterday's Forbes article, "A Disaster Named Krawcheck", Charles Gasparino does a fine job of attempting to dismantle Krawcheck's credibility, even going so far as to criticize her southern accent. He alludes to the idea that Krawcheck completely missed the boat on the credit crises. He attempts to strengthen his case by referring to 'analysts' that agree with him, but never mentions any names. In fact, he mentions that one top analyst characterized Krawcheck as being "in over her head". Apparently everyone on Wall Street was in over their head or we wouldn't be in this mess. In Michael Moore's new movie "Capitalism: A Love Story" you'll see a former Lehman Brothers executive trying to explain what a derivative is (and he doesn't do very well). The great financial disasters in this country were always a result of collective greed and this one was no exception. The truth is, there are many talented women on Wall Street that are kept out of the senior circles, despite their experience, credentials, and even the respect of their people. It is an extremely powerful force that keeps them out. The lack of gender balance in the executive ranks in the financial services industry continues to be an issue, and here again we are witnessing the lynching of another talented woman who deserves an opportunity to prove herself. She is gifted, smart, experienced, a team player, and well qualified for the role.A few weeks ago, I posted a story aired by CBS correspondent Kelly Wallace entitled "Does Wall Street Need More Women"? Wallace reported that corporations headed by women were performing slightly stronger than those run by men. Jacki Zehner, investor and philanthropist was profiled in the story. She was the youngest woman to make partner at Goldman Sachs in 1996. "If there had been a critical mass of women over a period of time at the decision-making tables, would we be in the place that we are in today? I don't think so," Zehner said. If the guys couldn't get it right, maybe we ought to let the gals try!
