Should a wizened trader be tasked with running an entire firm?

That's an obvious question in light of the terrific article from the New York Times about Jon Corzine's management of MF Global before it scandalously imploded. Even as CEO, Corzine was trading for the firm, often on his BlackBerry. He often left meetings to check on markets. Oddly enough, he even joined the proprietary trading team, the Principal Strategies Group, trading oil, Treasury securities and currencies.

Corzine reportedly made more than $10 million for the firm in 2011, which in the minds of some may have validated his behavior. He dictated the details of so many trades and clearly played childish psychological tricks when he did not get his way, subtly threatening to quit if the board didn't let him overweight European sovereign debt holdings. Laughably, he once said publicly that he considered himself the chief risk officer of the firm.

Only in hindsight can we see that he was classic "enfant terrible" to whom no one could say no. He bears a lot of responsibility for the scandal, though it remains to be seen if charges will be brought forward. Regulators are under intense pressure not to appear as if they are letting him get off scott free, that's for sure.

Ultimately, the board deserves a lot of blame as well. In his Congressional testimony, Corzine took pains to spread the blame, making sure all knew that the board knew what he was doing. That no doubt is true--an all the more damning. In the end, a CEO making trades on his BlackBerry is not a good indicator.

For more:
- here's the excavation of the implosion by the Times

Related articles:
Corzine: "I simply do not know where the money is"    
Jon Corzine will appear before Congress