The King of Capital: Sandy Weill and the Making of Citigroup: Amey Stone, Mike Brewster
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Weill has become the most daring dealmaker and assembler of companies on the business landscape, write Stone and Brewster in this insightful, occasionally hagiographic career biography of the Wall Street icon. While the authors did interview the Citigroup CEO, most of their primary sources are people who still work for him; thus, comments glorifying Weill abound. Stone (an associate editor at BusinessWeek Online) and Brewster (a former communications director at the global consulting firm KPMG) have compiled a comprehensive history tracing the career of Weill, now 69, through his days as a runner on Wall Street to his present position running one of the world’s largest corporations. They tell how he started his own firm and describe his methods of merging his companies with larger firms, praising him as one who has more than redefined the deal’; he has come to embody it. The authors do criticize some of Weill’s ideas, albeit gently, such as his unwavering belief that, despite evidence to the contrary, it is easy for a large financial company to cross-sell products. They do not explore, however, where Weill’s drive comes from, how he has always wound up on top regardless of how many firms his companies have merged with, or the intricacies of his business strategies. For the past several years, Weill has been rumored to be writing his own book. Until then, this mediocre text will suffice.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Sanford Weill, known as a ruthless deal-maker and the creator of successful businesses like Citigroup, has revolutionized the banking world and become a legend on par with Warren Buffett and Jack Welch. Stone and Brewster, both journalists and editors of online business publications, discuss Weill’s successful strategies and tactics through case studies and anecdotes from his professional and personal life. They cover his entire career, including his violation of federal law when in 1992 he merged banking and insurance businesses. He later lobbied the President and Congress to deregulate the financial services industry. In a power struggle in 2000, he ousted his co-CEO, John Reed, at Citigroup. The chronicle of his ascent to executive greatness demonstrates the opportunities he seized that others could not or would not dare to take in a world of financial intrigue and globalization. This candid business biography does not critique Weill’s more questionable actions but instead serves to demonstrate the need for determination, self-confidence, and strong management skills to become an outstanding CEO in today’s global business world. Recommended for business collections. Susan C. Awe, Univ. of New Mexico,
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.