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John Thain
John Thain
Company: Merrill Lynch
Lasted: 11 months

Shareholders were relieved when Thain engineered Merrill's $50 billion sale to Bank of America just as Lehman Brothers collapsed. Bloomberg reported after the sale that the Merrill chief could exit with $11 million in stock payouts. But Thain, the former head of the New York Stock Exchange and a Goldman Sachs veteran, didn't grab the parachute: Bank of America announced Oct. 2 that he'll oversee the company's global banking, securities, and wealth management divisions.

NEXT: Richard Fuld, Jr.
Last updated October 03 2008: 11:14 AM ET
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