In its second top management change in as many weeks, Bank of New York Co. said Thursday that it has hired Bruce W. Van Saun to be executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Mr. Van Saun, 39, will join the bank Wednesday and act as controller as well as overseeing corporate finance, strategic planning, and tax planning. He is currently a managing director and chief financial officer at Deutsche Bank North America.
"He brings additional strength to our management ranks at a time when our business is growing in scale and complexity," said Bank of New York president Thomas A. Renyi.
Mr. Van Saun will succeed to the post held by Deno D. Papageorge, 58, since 1981. Mr. Papageorge, a senior executive vice president who was elected to Bank of New York's board of directors in January, will concentrate on asset and liability management for the company's treasury and global trading activities, the bank said.
Observers of the banking company said the change reflects Mr. Renyi's effort to build a new management team in anticipation of chairman J. Carter Bacot's retirement at the end of this year.
"It's time to prepare for a new generation," said James J. McDermott Jr., president of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. "This feels a lot like the Renyi handprint."
A Bank of New York spokesman confirmed Mr. Bacot's intention to retire this year as he approaches his 65th birthday. "He has been open about his plans," the spokesman said.
The hiring of Mr. Van Saun was announced a week after the bank confirmed that Richard D. Field, 56, senior executive vice president and head of retail operations, would retire May 14 to pursue another career.
Newton P.S. Merrill, 57, a senior executive vice president in charge of trust and investment management, has been named interim chief of retail until a permanent replacement is named, the bank said.
Mr. Renyi, 51, became president in March 1992. In January 1996, he was also named chief executive officer of the company's principle operating subsidiary.
At that time, observers said the appointment indicated that Mr. Renyi was the heir apparent to the chairman's job.
Thursday's executive announcement supported the widely held belief that a changing of the guard is afoot, these observers said.
Mr. Van Saun has been CFO at Deutsche Bank's American unit since 1994. Before that, he was chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Wasserstein Perella Group Inc., a leveraged buyout and investment banking boutique.
He declined to comment Thursday but said in a statement: "By running a tight ship and by focusing on the potential of processing and fee-based business," Bank of New York has "created enormous value for shareholders .... I look forward to helping make the most of those opportunities."
