Man on the hot seat: James Cayne

Like his predecessor Ace Greenberg, Jimmy Cayne, the CEO of Bear Stearns, is a canny bridge player. Also like Greenberg, Cayne had transformed himself into one of Wall Street's Grand Old Men. But that was before the credit-crunch jolted two of its hedge funds, one of which required a $3.2 billion parental infusion. Now, he's in for perhaps the last great challenge of his career--one that will define his tenure, for better or worse. The stock has been buffeted this year--some think it might be a good merger prospect--and the common view is that the brand has suffered. "I'm angry," he tells the New York Times.  But he needs an image plan for the firm. Regulators and investors will surely complicate things. This is a lot to deal with, but he may yet have a few tricks up his sleeve.

For more:
- here's the profile 
- Marano to run bailout. Article