Rumors fly about possible departure of Fidelity president Rodger Lawson

Fidelity Investments president Rodger Lawson is looking to leave the firm by the end of the year, according to a story published by The Wall Street Journal today.

The articled cited a “longtime acquaintance” of his.

Mr. Lawson joined Fidelity in July 2007, charged with the challenge of meeting specific management goals, said Fidelity spokeswoman Anne Crowley.

“He came here with the understanding that he’d be here a few years,” she said.

Ms. Crowley confirmed that J. Robert Scott, a Boston-based executive search firm, was hired by Mr. Lawson “a while ago to conduct a search for some specific senior roles and search for people who would also add to the succession capability of the firm. Naturally, we are always searching for talent as a normal part of our succession planning at all levels of the organization.”

“It was not an immediate search to replace Rodger,” Ms. Crowley said. “It was a search for people that would potentially succeed senior talent in the firm, including Rodger.”

That search has concluded, Ms. Crowley added.

Recruiters familiar with the search said that the job was described to potential candidates as a chief operating officer post.

While the spot was not necessarily categorized as a direct replacement for Mr. Lawson, these candidates were informed that the new position would play a critical role in the firm’s succession plan for when chairman and chief executive Edward C. Johnson III eventually retired, those sources say.

It’s likely that Abigail Johnson, Mr. Johnson’s daughter, will assume his role in Fidelity’s top spot.
The recent search activity was likely conducted to find individuals who could work closely with Ms. Johnson and assume some of her current responsibilities as the head of the firm’s personal-investing business, sources added.
The Journal reported that Mr. Lawson wants to stay at Fidelity until Mr. Johnson’s successor is in place. The story did not indicate any potential date for his departure, however.

“I will not speculate about a hypothetical departure date that may or may not happen in the future,” Ms. Crowley said.

Mr. Lawson restructured the firm’s individual business units and replaced more than a dozen senior managers throughout the company, largely with individuals from outside the firm, which was a departure from Fidelity’s historic practice of choosing homegrown talent.

Jim Lowell, publisher of the Fidelity Investor newsletter in Needham, Mass., was not surprised by the rumors that Mr. Lawson may be looking to exit the firm.

“He was hired with a focused mission to transfer Fidelity into a dynamic investment company where you had to earn your keep to work there,” Mr. Lowell said.

“He restructured the businesses into silos and made them accountable to their top and bottom lines. He restructured it into a far more efficient and profitable overall.”
The creation of business silos and the level of product efficiency will eventually lead to greater profitability, Mr. Lowell added.

However John Bonnanzio, editor of Fidelity Insight newsletter in Wellesley Hills, Mass., takes another view.
Still, the move is not a positive signal for customers, he said.

“You want to see stability at the top,” Mr. Bonnanzio said. “It’s certainly not a signal you want to send to people with brokerage accounts, 401(k) accounts and institutional clients.”

The firm may not need to replace him with an outside hire, Mr. Lowell said.

“He’s built something that is a turnkey. It could be Abigail’s turn to step up,” he said.
Bill Holodnak, president of J. Robert Scott, was not immediately available for comment.

Related Topics: Fidelity Investments