Spencer Stuart Recruits Barclays CEO
November 12, 2015 – Spencer Stuart has recruited James Staley as chief executive officer of Barclays Plc. Executive chairman John McFarlane ousted CEO Antony Jenkins and had pledged to tackle a “cumbersome and bureaucratic” bank.
Mr. Staley has nearly four decades of experience in banking and financial services. He worked for over 30 years at J.P. Morgan initially training as a commercial banker, and later advancing to the leadership of major businesses involving equities, private banking and asset management, and ultimately heading the company’s global investment bank. He is currently a managing partner of BlueMountain Capital.
“Barclays is an incredibly important, broad and complex business. Appointing an individual with the business scope, seasoning and track record is a difficult challenge,” said John McFarlane, Barclays’ chairman. “In Jes Staley we believe we have an executive with the appropriate leadership talent and wide ranging experience to deliver shareholder value and to take the Group forward strategically.”
“In particular, he understands corporate and investment banking well, the repositioning of which is one of our major priorities. After an extended process, I now know Jes well, and we are in agreement on the way forward,” said Mr. McFarlane. “He is a man of enormous integrity, and someone who both understands the business, but also the importance of cultural reform and the need to conduct our business in a way that we can all be proud of.”
Barclays is an international financial services provider engaged in personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management with an extensive presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
Over the past three years, Spencer Stuart has completed more than 200 searches for investment banking and capital markets professionals for clients, including large, global institutions, to regional firms and specialized boutiques. Since 2009, Spencer Stuart’s CEO practice has conducted nearly 1,500 chief executive search and succession assignments. The firm operates 56 offices in 30 countries.
Last month, Spencer Stuart was retained by Memorial Hermann Health System to lead its search for a new CEO. The largest not-for-profit health system in Southeast Texas, Memorial Hermann has 13 hospitals and numerous specialty programs and services located throughout the Greater Houston area. Spencer Stuart was also recently selected by motor home manufacturer Winnebago Industries to find its next CEO.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
