John Havens

Ex-Citi hedge fund manager blames firm

Jim Kim — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:41:03 -0400

John Pickett, who ran a Citigroup hedge fund from 1999 until his resignation in December, has filed a sealed arbitration-like complaint in London. In it, he has some choice accusations against his former employer, notes FINalternatives. Pickett claims Citi's John Havens, who now runs Citi's alternative investment units, overruled him when he attempted to back out of a bid for $730 million in leveraged loans last summer. Pickett's move reflected what he saw at Morgan Stanley and the other banks changed the terms. But after Morgan Stanley complained, Havens ordered Pickett not to sue the banks. A settlement was reached that cost the hedge fund dearly, and helped secure a large loss for the year, according to Pickett (who says the firm put its own interests ahead of customers). Citi says the complaint is without merit. It halted redemptions at the fund in question in February.

For more:
- here's the FINalternatives article

Citigroup continues to tinker with execs

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:59:55 -0400

Vikram Pandit is not shy about tinkering with his talent. The New York Times notes that the elevation of John Havens to head the newly combined investment banking and alternative investment group is the third big executive shake-up at Citigroup in six months. The move also represents the latest sign that Pandit feels most comfortable with old Morgan Stanley chums. Havens is the polar opposite of Pandit in terms of personality, the Times notes, but they have worked together for 20 years. The issue for many is whether all this tinkering will bear any real fruit. Will it meaningfully affect the company's ability to manage its way through the current crisis? There are plenty of skeptics.

For more:
- here's the New York Times article

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Citigroup inches closer to CEO choice

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

The Citigroup board meets today and tomorrow, this after the CEO search committee met over the weekend. The New York Times says directors will likely decide on the next CEO, though an announcement may take longer. Most assume that Vikram Pandit will be offered the job. The ripple effects, however, are an open question. Pandit has been in charge of the investment bank since October; it's uncertain who would fill that critical role. Michael Klein, co-head of investment banking, and John Havens, who runs the alternative investments unit, are said to be top contenders. Hanging over all this is the specter of huge writedowns for the fourth quarter. It's unclear if the new CEO would want to start after the results are known. Stay tuned.

For more:
- here's the article

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- Citigroup CEO still elusive
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Morgan Stanley's 2005 rebels

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 20:01:34 -0400

Remember the heady days of Phil Purcell's final stand at Morgan Stanley. A group of big-name executives, infuriated that Purcell would not step down, quit in protest, charging that the then-CEO had ruined the firm. Well, what has become of the rebels? It's fair to say that there is life after Morgan Stanley. Most famously, Vikram Pandit, John Havens and Guru Ramakrishnan quickly formed hedge fund Old Lane Capital and promptly sold it to Citigroup for more than $600 million and lucrative jobs. Joseph Perella also formed his own boutique, where a number of Morgan Stanley pirates now work. Stephen Crawford was a co-founder of Centerview Partners. Vikram Gandhi is now head of global financial institutions at Credit Suisse. Jon Anda, former co-head of capital markets is now president of Environmental Defense's environmental markets network.

For more:
- here's the Financial News Online article

Update: Mack's attempt to remake Morgan Stanley

Sun, 27 Nov 2005 19:01:39 -0500

Morgan Stanley ended its relationship with Stephan Newhouse, a former president; Vikram Pandit, ex-head of the institutional securities division; and John Havens, who ran the equities division. John Mack, who has been running Morgan Stanley for five months, would have liked them to stay, but he's not slowing down. He has stepped up his search for a hedge fund to acquire, something that would solve a few problems at the firm.

> Here's a New York Times article.

More on Morgan's new exec team

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 20:01:36 -0400

A series of top investment bankers left Morgan Stanley before CEO John Mack took over. So it was natural to assume that he might have picked one to head up the firm's investment banking operations. The list included the likes of Vikram Pandit, Joseph Perella, Stephen Newhouse, Terry McGuid and John Havens, according to MarketWatch. So the naming of Walid Chammah as head of investment banking suggests perhaps that Mack failed to lure one of the heavyweights back.

> Here's a MarketWatch article.