Headlines:
Fiserv's Chief Executive to Retire in '06
Leslie M. Muma, the president and chief executive of Fiserv Inc., plans to retire in June 2006.
He also said Tuesday that Norman J. Balthasar, a senior executive vice president and the chief operating officer at the Brookfield, Wis., company, has asked the board not to consider him a potential successor, because he is planning to retire in 2008.
"We want a CEO to be thinking long-term," and Mr. Balthasar would hold the job for only two years, Mr. Muma said.
Fiserv has formed a succession committee and is looking internally for its next CEO. "We have no plans to look outside the company unless looking internally comes to naught," Mr. Muma said. "We have a lot of very capable people, so I don't think that is very likely."
He also plans to step down from Fiserv's board when he retires. "I think that's proper. If I were to remain on the board, it would feel like I'm just looking over the new guy's shoulders."
However, he also said he would consider remaining on the board for a year if the incoming CEO and the board asked him to do so, to offer advice to his successor.
Carla N. Cooper, an analyst at the brokerage firm Robert W. Baird & Co., said that Fiserv has eight major units, and that the top executives of each unit would all be leading contenders for the job.
The eight unit leaders are Mike Gantt, who runs the bank systems unit; Jim Fox, who runs the health solutions group; Mark Damico, who runs item processing; Patrick Foy, who runs the bank servicing unit; Bob Beriault, who runs the securities and trust operation; James Puzniak, who runs lending services; Thomas Neill, who runs the credit union operations; and Terry Wade, who runs the insurance division. All report to Mr. Balthasar.
Mr. Muma, 60, has been with Fiserv since it was founded in 1984.
Citigroup Alumnus Joins Corillian's Board
Corillian Corp. has named James R. Stojak, a former Citigroup Inc. executive, to its board.
Mr. Stojak is currently an independent consultant to financial services firms and technology companies. His last job at Citi was executive vice president in charge of global consumer operations and technology.
"Jim brings to Corillian a wealth of expertise and knowledge within the financial services industry," Alex Hart, the Portland, Ore., online banking software vendor's president and chief executive, said in a press release Thursday.
