Photo Illustration by Javier Palma Source: Bloomberg (3), Getty Images (2)
HSBC's Biggest Shakeup in Decade Raises Stakes for CEO
Georges Elhedery's overhaul of HSBC has sent its stock soaring to a record, but challenges including surging costs and the trade war will now complicate his task.
When HSBC Holdings Plc’s departing boss Noel Quinn walked out of the bank’s London headquarters for the final time last September, he shared a hug with his successor, Georges Elhedery. Surrounded by hundreds of cheering staff, the embrace seemed to symbolize that not much would change under the new boss.
But just about two months after that hug, a lot had changed. Like a man on a mission, the new chief executive officer embarked on the biggest overhaul the bank had seen in at least a decade, ripping up much of his inheritance. He reorganized HSBC into four new divisions and jettisoned some businesses his predecessors once considered key to the lender’s future. He stripped out layers of middle management to streamline decision making, culling hundreds of jobs. Then, in January, he upended life for the firm's dealmakers by gutting the majority of the investment banking operations in Europe and the Americas.