Marshall N. Carter, chairman and chief executive officer of State Street Corp., announced Thursday his intention to retire Jan. 1 after nine years guiding the Boston-based banking company.
Mr. Carter, 60, will continue as chairman for the remainder of the year but has relinquished his CEO title to the company's president, David A. Spina, 57, who will take the chairman's title in January.
In addition Ronald E. Logue, 55, and Nicholas A. Lopardo, 54, both vice chairmen, were elected to the company's board of directors. Mr. Logue, who runs the company's securities processing businesses, assumed the title chief operating officer. Another vice chairman, John R. Towers, 58, took on the title chief administrative officer. Mr. Towers oversees technology operations.
At a press conference Mr. Carter said it was the right time "to bring in fresh leadership," and he expressed relief that he would be free of the relentless pressure from Wall Street "not to do strategic thinking but to do quarterly earnings."
Mr. Carter, a decorated former Marine officer and onetime White House fellow, said he wanted to devote his energy to educational and community service projects. "I don't intend to take another job," he said.
Under Mr. Carter's command, State Street, with $60.5 billion of assets, continued its evolution from being a traditional commercial bank - in the 1970s it even had retail branches - to becoming a specialist in services for institutional investors. Last year he agreed to sell the remnants of State Street's commercial lending and deposit businesses to Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Financial Group.
State Street's two main businesses, processing and asset management, have steadily amassed market share during the last decade. Since 1991, assets under custody have risen nearly 580%, to $6.2 trillion, and assets under management have grown tenfold, to $720 billion. Much of the growth has come in the United States, though recently State Street has trained its sights on expansion in Europe and elsewhere overseas.
Mr. Spina outlined three main objectives for the new management. He said he wants to expand significantly in Europe, where privatization of pension plans is creating new markets for companies like State Street.
He said he wants to form more strategic alliances similar to the company's joint venture with Citigroup - called CitiStreet - in the midsize defined contribution plan market and to a more recent partnership with E-Trade in which the online brokerage will feature State Street's investment products in a new education planning service.
Mr. Spina also talked about the importance of strengthening e-commerce initiatives. "We can go head to head with the dot-coms and win," he said.
Mr. Carter graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1962 and went to Vietnam as an officer in the Marine Corps, rising to the rank of major. He was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Navy Cross. He joined State Street as president and chief operating officer in 1991 after 15 years in various executive roles at Chase Manhattan Corp.
