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First Union CEO resigns
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March 10, 2000: 5:15 p.m. ET
Crutchfield leaves to battle cancer; company president named to post
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Edward Crutchfield, chief executive officer of First Union Corp., resigned on Friday because he is fighting cancer.
The 59-year-old Crutchfield, who is suffering from lymphoma, named company President G. Kennedy Thompson as the new CEO of the nation's sixth-largest bank. Crutchfield will remain chairman of the board of the Charlotte, N.C.-based company, which operates banks under the name of First Union National Bank.
"I have every confidence in Ken's ability to successfully lead our company," Crutchfield said. "This is the next step in a succession plan put in place some time ago."
Crutchfield will remain board chairman until at least Dec. 31, and will continue to oversee that management transition.
As CEO, Crutchfield oversaw the bank, which has $253 billion in assets, through a period of intense acquisition led by its $47 billion purchase of CoreStates Financial Corp. last year, the biggest bank merger in the company's history. The company purchased assets of $192.8 billion through acquisitions in the past decade.
"It is a mark of Ed's tremendous leadership that he has cultivated a depth of management, particularly with Ken, who is superbly positioned to now assume the CEO role," said B.F. Dolan, chairman of First Union's executive committee.
Thompson, 49, joined First Union in 1976 after earning a Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a Master of Business Administration degree from Wake Forest University. Prior to being named president last year, Thompson served as vice chairman and head of Global Capital Markets, president of First Union-Florida and senior vice president and head of Human Resources.
Thompson also served as president of First Union-Georgia, and held senior positions in the company's New York loan production office and middle market department.
Katrina Blecher, an analyst with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., said Thompson's appointment could be positive for the company, which has seen its stock trading near its 52-week low of 27-15/16.
"Personally, my heart goes out to the man, however the company's stock has suffered, and I think that with the change in the CEO position, there might be some help. It might benefit the credibility of the company," Blecher said.
First Union provides financial services to 16 million retail and corporate customers and operates full-service banking offices in 12 states and the District of Columbia, as well as full-service brokerage offices in 41 states.
Shares of First Union (FTU: Research, Estimates) closed trading Friday up 1-1/16 to 31-11/16. 
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First Union
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