Bob Wigley, a former chairman of Merrill Lynch EMEA, might also appreciate a large tumbler of Scotch. Wigley, who left the US investment bank after it was devoured by Bank of America in 2009, became chairman of Hibu, the former Yellow Pages printed directory of local businesses, some four years ago.
Sadly, even Wigley proved unable to stem the tide of progress in the form of the internet. Hibu equity investors were wiped out this summer as Hibu shares became worthless when lenders took over the company.
Wigley, of course, has an impressive curriculum vitae – didn’t he used to sit on the Court of the Bank of England between 2006 and 2009? So his current travails in the ‘real world’ are probably a ‘blip’. And indeed the Financial Times reported in late July that Brave Bob is hoping to launch an exotic derivatives platform, NetOTC, and a bank called First Global Trust.
Musing on Bob led me to realize that I hadn’t heard from his successor, Jonathan Moulds, for ages. Moulds, who was president of BAML in Europe, left his post in 2012 after a run-in with George Clooney look-alike Andrea Orcel. Orcel then bolted for UBS where he now runs the investment bank.