Jay S. Gould has been through good and bad times as a bank investor relations director.
While at Los Angeles-based Security Pacific Corp., he had to explain to analysts why the bank's real estate portfolio was in such deep trouble. Security Pacific was acquired by BankAmerica Corp. in 1992.
He has also had the satisfaction, though, of building an investor relations department at Cleveland-based Society Corp. when it was undergoing a growth spurt. He went to work for KeyCorp, also in Cleveland, when it and Society merged, in 1994.
But it's more fun to speak for a company that is performing well and has a stock that's being touted on Wall Street. So last month, when Columbus, Ohio-based Banc One Corp. called Mr. Gould, he jumped at the offer.
Banc One, Mr. Gould said, is going to be a survivor in the consolidation game. "It's a bigger organization, there are a few more dynamics at work, and, at this particular time of industry consolidation, they're in the driver's seat," Mr. Gould said.
Though Mr. Gould said he left $65 billion-asset KeyCorp under very good circumstances, many analysts don't give it much chance for survival in the long run.
Conversely, Banc One is one of the hunters. The company, in the midst of a major cost-cutting program to make it more profitable, is going to need to keep its stock price high to be competitive in the merger game.
"They want me to help develop the message and take it to the Street," Mr. Gould said.
"He is very highly regarded by analysts," said Banc One spokesman John Russell. "We asked the analysts who they liked, and they said Jay Gould."
"My philosophy is to be available and to be honest," Mr. Gould said. "There is a tendency in our profession to be too much of a spin doctor. I don't think that helps you in the long run."
"We certainly wish Jay well," said KeyCorp spokesman John Fuller. Lee Irving, KeyCorp's chief accounting officer, has assumed investor relations duties, Mr. Fuller said.
Mr. Gould, who began his new job Monday, replaces George R.L. Meiling, who retired in July.
Mr. Gould, 49, worked at KeyCorp and Society for four and a half years. He spent 15 years at Security Pacific, starting in corporate planning.
He said he moved into investor relations because he found it more exciting than planning, which revolved around yearlong or five-year cycles.
"In investor relations, things change every day," Mr. Gould said.
