Bank of America 2008 Annual Report Download - page 12

10 Bank of America 2008
management business for several
years, is now focused on pulling
together our teams from across Bank of
America and Merrill Lynch as we build a
leading presence in these businesses.
Tom Montag, who joined Merrill
Lynch in 2008 as head of Global Sales &
Trading, will lead our Global Markets
businesses. Before joining Merrill, Tom
spent 22 years in a number of senior
roles with Goldman Sachs. Tom’s expe-
rience in securities markets all over the
world makes him an ideal leader for our
team as we work to build this business.
We also have welcomed three
former members of the Merrill Lynch
board of directors to our board. Charles
O. Rossotti is a senior advisor at The
Carlyle Group and a former IRS com-
missioner. Virgis W. Colbert is a senior
advisor to the MillerCoors Company.
Retired Admiral Joseph Prueher is a
consulting professor at Stanford Univer-
sity’s Institute of International Studies,
and formerly served as U.S. ambassa-
dor to the People’s Republic of China.
I look forward to their leadership and
contributions to our company.
We will have one departure from our
board this year. Meredith R. Spangler,
a director since 1988, will retire at our
annual meeting. When Meredith joined
our board, we were a regional bank
called NCNB that operated in just a
handful of Southern states. Over the
past 20 years, she has helped guide
our growth through at least a half-dozen
transformative mergers and several
business cycles. As a member of our
Corporate Governance Committee, she
has been instrumental in guiding the
development of the standards and
protocols through which we govern the
company. And she has provided valued
advice and counsel to both Hugh
McColl, our former chairman and
CEO, and me in good times and bad.
In short, during her time on our
board, Meredith Spangler has been
a constant source of strength and
wisdom to this company and its
leaders. We are positioned to survive
this economic crisis and be a global
force in our industry in part because of
her leadership. Her presence will be
sorely missed, and we wish her only
the best in all her future endeavors.
2008 was one of the most challeng-
ing years in our company’s history.
2009 will be a great challenge as well.
But this is not the first time this
company has faced and successfully
managed through economic or business
crises. We have a 225-year history of
persevering during hard times, and
positioning ourselves to be even
stronger when economic growth returns.
Despite the severity of our current
challenges, I remain undeterred. I
believe that our combination of strong
businesses, leading market positions,
diverse earnings power and talented
associates will see us through, and
that we will emerge as one of the
strongest and best financial institu-
tions in the world.
In conclusion, I would like to thank
every shareholder for your patience and
continued confidence in our team and
our company. Every associate at Bank
of America is working together toward
a common goal: restoring this company
to a position of financial and competi-
tive strength. I look forward to reporting
to you over the course of the year on
our progress. And, as always, I welcome
your thoughts and suggestions.
KENNETH D. LEWIS
CHAIRMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
AND PRESIDENT
MARCH 9, 2009
We already serve half of all American
households, and we’re benefi tting from a
fl ight to safety, a powerful brand and rising
customer satisfaction.