Richard S. Fuld Jr.

Richard S. Fuld Jr., chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers Inc. (LEH ), is pretty good at proving naysayers wrong. Ever since American Express Co. (AXP ) spun off Lehman in 1994, Wall Street insiders have speculated that Lehman, the fourth-largest traditional investment bank, couldn't stay independent for long. The firm suffered a setback on September 11: One Lehman employee was killed, its headquarters building near Ground Zero was severely damaged, and its market share fell, as reflected in its fourth-quarter results.

But these blows have only made Fuld and his team more determined to expand Lehman's reach. "In a sad, peculiar way, I'm reenergized by all that's happened. It was that horrible, unfortunate event that got my people to come together in such a strong way," says Fuld. And that is largely because of his straight-shooting, gutsy, contrarian leadership style. While rivals are laying off thousands to cut costs, Fuld, 55, who started with Lehman as a commercial-paper trader in 1969, insists he will keep his staff intact and hire new talent.