by Bruce | September 26, 2008 | Articles, Leadership, Strategy
It’s all over for Heller Ehrman. One of the best single pieces of coverage comes from The San Francisco Chronicle. Heller was founded in 1890, rode through the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (in the aftermath of which the nascent client Wells Fargo Bank set up a...
by Bruce | September 21, 2008 | Articles, Finance, Practice Group Management, Strategy
Sometimes in the midst of turmoil all around us, with the landscape of the financial services industry–for many of us, our lifeblood–reforming under our very eyes, it’s worthwhile to take a step back and reflect upon some enduring business verities....
by Bruce | September 19, 2008 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, M&A, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
Nothing less than a generational transformation of investment banking and the financial services industry at large. Its implications for, among other things, the economies of New York City and London, the structure of global capital markets, and our own dearly...
by Bruce | September 15, 2008 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Strategy
Pete Peterson, former head of Lehman Brothers, co-founder of Blackstone, and secretary of commerce under Nixon, described this weekend’s events on Wall Street with what almost amounts to understatement: "My goodness. I’ve been in the business 35...
by Bruce | September 13, 2008 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Strategy
This is how the cover story of the current issue of Fortune starts out: It was the second week of October 2006. William King, then J.P. Morgan’s chief of securitized products, was vacationing in Rwanda, visiting remote coffee plantations he was helping to...
by Bruce | September 6, 2008 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, M&A, Strategy
Best of times or worst of times to make some acquisitions? This is one area where the head/heart divergence may be more radical than usual—and where it could really cost you. Here’s how McKinsey poses the dilemma: "As the credit crunch threatens to...