25 Facts About Stanley O'Neal

Earnest Stanley O'Neal was born on October 7,1951 and is a retired American business executive.

Stanley O'Neal was CEO of Merrill Lynch from 2002 to 2007, and chairman and CEO from 2003 to 2007, having worked at the firm since 1986.

Stanley O'Neal was the first African-American CEO of a Wall Street firm.

Stanley O'Neal has served on the board of directors of Alcoa, Arconic, General Motors, and other corporations.

Stanley "Stan" O'Neal was born in a Roanoke, Alabama hospital and raised in Wedowee, Alabama.

Stanley O'Neal was the eldest of four children of Earnest O'Neal Sr.

Stanley O'Neal grew up in a wood-frame house on the farm owned by his grandfather, James Stanley O'Neal, who died when Stan was five years old.

When Stanley O'Neal was 12 year old, his father moved the family to Atlanta for better employment.

Stanley O'Neal's father worked on the assembly line at the General Motors factory in Doraville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.

Stanley O'Neal was accepted, and offered a GM merit-based scholarship.

Stanley O'Neal was elected vice president of the Afro-American Student Union.

In 1986, Stanley O'Neal joined Merrill Lynch as director of investment banking.

Stanley O'Neal was the first head of the private client group who had not previously been a broker at the firm, and led massive layoffs within the division.

In 2001, Stanley O'Neal became president of the firm, which eventually led to the resignation of his predecessor and one-time mentor David Komansky.

On July 23,2002, Stanley O'Neal was selected as CEO and chairman, the first Black CEO of a Wall Street firm.

Stanley O'Neal attempted to get rid of the 'Mother Merrill' culture of job security, arguing that it promoted cronyism instead of merit.

Stanley O'Neal wanted to transform Merrill into a trading powerhouse, and to surpass Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street firms.

Stanley O'Neal finally realized the huge exposure that Merrill had to subprime mortgage-backed CDOs, and that the firm would have to be sold in order to survive.

Stanley O'Neal left with a severance package including Merrill stock and options worth $161.5 million on top of the $91.4 million in total compensation he earned in 2006.

Stanley O'Neal was replaced as Merrill Lynch's CEO with John Thain from NYSE Euronext.

On January 18,2008, Stanley O'Neal was named to the board of directors of Alcoa.

On March 11,2016, a release of documents by the National Archives revealed that the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission had recommended that Stanley O'Neal be prosecuted for multiple crimes in connection with his activities as CEO of Merrill Lynch during the lead up to the sub-prime crisis.

Stanley O'Neal met his second wife, economist Nancy Garvey, while working at General Motors.

Stanley O'Neal is a golfer with a nine handicap, and has held memberships at four different country clubs, including Vineyard Golf Club.

Stanley O'Neal has been affiliated with several board of directors, board of trustees, and advisory boards.