| Carol Galley | ||||||
Carol Galley, London’s most famous fund manager, is leaving her job at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers after more than 30 years in the business.
Galley, who was dubbed the Ice Maiden after she made the casting vote against Sir Rocco Forte in favour of Granada’s hostile takeover of his company in 1996, confessed to feeling emotional upon announcing her decision.
Somewhat hidden in her formidable shadow, Stephen Zimmerman, who was co-chief operating officer with Galley, is also leaving.
The two architects of Mercury Asset Management’s sale to Merrill Lynch at the top of the market in 1997 for £3.1 billion are leaving just as the good times look to be coming to an end.
By the time she goes in December, Galley will hope to have seen a resolution of the one blot on her landscape: the legal squabble with Unilever pension fund. Unilever is taking its former fund manager to the High Court to argue that Mercury’s poor handling of its £1 billion portfolio cost the fund £100 million in lost returns.
For the moment, though, Galley is looking forward to taking life easy. “I’d like to see some places – for fun,” she said when announcing her decision. She certainly has the means to travel, having made several millions in the course of her career, not least from the sale of Mercury to Merrill.
However, as a result of the US bank’s takeover, it was the constant crossing of the Atlantic that is believed to have taken its toll on Galley and Zimmerman. With personal fortunes guaranteed, the motivation to keep going must inevitably have dwindled.
Their careers having been closely intertwined, Zimmerman’s decision to call it a day influenced Galley’s move. She says when he told her last September that he was planning to leave, it “crystallized my own thoughts on life”.
Those they leave behind to take up the reins – Robert Doll and Peter Gibbs, who become chief investment officer and chief operating officer – may not have been delighted by Galley’s views on the future of the markets.
Neither will jittery market players’ nerves have been soothed by Galley’s comments. “These are challenging times,” she said. “It has been a great party and you know what you get after a great party – a great hangover. No-one has as much fun in a bear market.”
Yet Galley and Zimmerman could both be tempted back into the business. The two have signed agreements not to join any of Merrill’s rivals but are not excluded from setting up by themselves.
Galley, who broke through the glass ceiling after starting her professional life with SG Warburg, may not have finished with the City yet.
