Who'll succeed Lawson at Fidelity unclear

When Rodger Lawson officially steps down as president of Fidelity Investments at the end of March, the company may not act to fill the position immediately, industry experts predict. Edward C. “Ned” Johnson III, chairman and chief executive of the firm, may decide that a president isn't needed, according to sources. John Bonnanzio, editor of the Fidelity Insight newsletter, noted that Fidelity has operated without a president before and may do so again. But if the right candidate “really captured the attention of Ned Johnson,” he or she might get the job, Mr. Bonnanzio said. Anne Crowley, a Fidelity spokeswoman, declined to comment on what will happen when Mr. Lawson departs. Mr. Lawson's predecessor as Fidelity's No. 2 executive — Robert Reynolds, who is now president and chief executive of Putnam Investments — was chief operating officer at Fidelity, but never president.

A DAUGHTER'S RISE

Should Mr. Lawson be replaced, however, the most mentioned potential successor is Mr. Johnson's daughter, Abigail, president of Fidelity's personal-and-workplace-investing division. She also serves as vice chairman of Fidelity's parent company, FMR LLC. “One has to assume that she is always a candidate,” Mr. Bonnanzio said.
That said, Jeffrey R. Carney, head of global marketing and product development at Putnam Investments, would be a good fit for the job, according to one Fidelity adviser, who asked not to be identified. Mr. Carney came to Putnam from Bank of America Corp., where he was president of the retirement division and global wealth and investment management unit. Prior to working for BofA, however, he was president of Fidelity Retirement Services, where advisers said that he became a favorite of Mr. Johnson's. Mr. Carney couldn't be reached for comment. One industry watcher, however, said that it makes little difference who is president of Fidelity. “I would say it's not really material,” said Matthew Noll, a senior credit officer at Moody's Investors Service. The major decisions at Fidelity are handled by Mr. Johnson. “When [Mr. Johnson] steps down, it's going to be a very substantial change at the company, because he's very involved in the day-to-day operations of the firm,” Mr. Noll said. E-mail David Hoffman at [email protected].