King of Capital: Sandy Weill and the Making of Citigroup
Weill has become the most daring dealmaker and assembler of companies on the business landscape, write Stone and Brewster in this insightful, occasionally hagiographic career biography of the Wall Street icon. While the authors did interview the Citigroup CEO, most of their primary sources are people who still work for him; thus, comments glorifying Weill abound. Stone (an associate editor at BusinessWeek Online) and Brewster (a former communications director at the global consulting firm KPMG) have compiled a comprehensive history tracing the career of Weill, now 69, through his days as a runner on Wall Street to his present position running one of the world's largest corporations. They tell how he started his own firm and describe his methods of merging his companies with larger firms, praising him as one who has more than redefined  the deal'; he has come to embody it. The authors do criticize some of Weill's ideas, albeit gently, such as his unwavering belief that, despite evidence to the contrary, it is easy for a large financial company to cross-sell products. They do not explore, however, where Weill's drive comes from, how he has always wound up on top regardless of how many firms his companies have merged with, or the intricacies of his business strategies. For the past several years, Weill has been rumored to be writing his own book. Until then, this mediocre text will suffice.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.