Current head said it was impossible for one individual to keep track of 257,000 employees
By Dominic Elliott
LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Only multitaskers with near-superhuman powers need apply to run HSBC. After all, the sprawling bank's current chief executive, Stuart Gulliver, said last year it was impossible for one individual to keep track of what HSBC's 257,000 employees were up to. Breakingviews picks executives who have at least some of the requisite attributes:
Managing big workforces
Foxconn founder Terry Gou not only presides over more than 1 million employees, he also has rock-solid Asian credentials. Gou is also a billionaire and could, in theory, forego bonuses without great hardships in the event of future mishaps. But a lack of financial experience counts against him.
Self-cloning skills
With all those employees, HSBC needs someone who can almost be in several places simultaneously. Brian Moynihan has form: the Bank of America boss was fifth among Fortune 100 executives based on the size of aircraft benefits in 2014, according to compensation-research firm Equilar.
Compliance expertise
HSBC has beefed up controls this decade, hiring Chief Legal Officer Stuart Levey and head of financial crime unit Jennifer Shasky Calvery, both former U.S. government officials. But if HSBC is prepared to indulge in blue-sky thinking, it could try former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who has some experience of finance and high-level contacts in the U.S. and Chinese administrations.
International and investment banking savvy
Big names currently looking for a step up include Morgan Stanley President Colm Kelleher, co-chief executive of Goldman Sachs International Michael Sherwood, and Stephen Hester, boss of RSA Insurance Group and ex-CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland. Failing that, JPMorgan still has some executives that Barclays has yet to poach. Perhaps Chief Operating Officer Matt Zames, Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake and investment banking chief Daniel Pinto could be persuaded to move. An added advantage is that they would have worked at the only other bank that global regulators consider as systemically risky as HSBC.
HSBC know-how
The bank has traditionally promoted insiders. If it sticks to this practice, options include retail banking boss John Flint, Chief Operating Officer Andy Maguire, UK chief Antonio Simoes, investment bank chief Samir Assaf, and Asian head of investment banking Gordon French.
Gulliver once said large corporations were held to higher standards than the military, the church and the civil service. Given the multifaceted requirements of his role, it is easy to see why the chief executive of HSBC felt hard done by.
