Stan O'Neal

Stan O'Neal is the former CEO of Merrill Lynch. He was previously a member of the General Motors Board of Directors. He orginally joined Merrill Lynch in 1986, as and became the companies CFO in 1998. He was the firm's president by 2001, and in 2003 he became Chairman and CEO. He announced his retirement from the firm in 2007, following an announced $12.8 billion loss. Alberto Criboire was named interim CEO after he stepped down from his position on October 30, 2007. O'Neal left the firm with a compensation package valued at $161.5 million.

Structure like a mini time line. Include the 5-10 of the most important dates in this person's life. For example:

1. 1974: General Motors Institute Industrial Administration Degree
2. 1978: MBA Harvard Business School
3. 1986: Merrill Lynch division manager
4. 1998: Merrill Lynch CFO
5. 2001: Merrill Lynch President
6. 2003: Merrill Lynch CEO & Chairman
7. 2007: Retires

O'Neil began as an analyst for General Motors, and quickly worked his way up to become the director of GM's treasury department. He joined Merrill Lynch at the age of 35. He worked as the lead of the leveraged finance division, and as the head of capital markets, before spending two years as the companies CFO. During O'Neil's tenure as CEO, the firm recorded a $9.8 billion profit in 2006, which translated to a $48 million payout for O'Neil.