When Doug Peterson becomes president of Standard & Poor's this September, he'll inherit a series of headaches that few would envy. S&P is under fire from politicians for downgrading the United States from AAA to AA+. The Department of Justice is investigating the company for giving subprime mortgage securities top ratings just before they imploded. And regulators are trying to find ways to make it easier to sue ratings agencies, as well as make them less important in the grand scheme of financial markets.
But Peterson has built a reputation as an executive who can handle government scrutiny, improve business standards and even repair a firm's deeply damaged reputation.
Peterson was appointed chief executive of Citigroup (C) in Japan in 2004, the same year that the country's Financial Services Agency ordered Citi to shut down its local private bank for improper trading practices and engaging in transactions that could be associated with money laundering. The bank was banned from participating in government bond auctions and from accepting foreign currency deposits from new customers. The FSA told the press that Citi gave profits "undue importance" and cultivated a "law-evading sales system that disregards the laws and regulations of Japan."
Then-CEO Charles Prince sent Peterson to figure out and fix what had gone wrong, to repair relations with the government and to bring the strategically important division back to life. Peterson cleaned house and overhauled the division, winning over regulators. The bank went on to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and acquire Nikko Cordial, Japan's third largest broker.
"When you're all alone in a country, it's not just about revenues and profits," says Ajay Banga, who served as the head of Citi's Asia Pacific region from March 2008 to August 2009 before becoming the CEO of MasterCard. "It's about managing the franchise with governments. It's about answering to your employees and guiding them. It's about being in the political and regulatory spotlight. [Peterson] is no stranger to this and his experiences in Japan and Latin America will hold him in good stead."
Peterson, who declined to speak with Fortune, was quoted in a press release as saying: "I look forward to leading the S&P team and continuing to expand the company around the world by building on its many strengths."
Peterson seems like just the kind of executive that activist investors would want to see at the head of S&P. In a presentation filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jana Partners and Ontario Teachers, shareholders agitating for change at S&P's parent company McGraw-Hill (MHP), said that S&P needs an "independent oversight figure" who can navigate the business through "an increasingly complex global regulatory environment and heightened public focus."
Peterson is described by current and former Citi employees as extremely methodical and process-oriented, traits that speak to his roots as a math major at Claremont McKenna College. And he is extremely well liked at Citi. He is known for not making enemies at a bank that, like many Wall Street firms, has long had an entrenched political culture complete with fiefdoms, cliques, and power struggles. And he has want Banga calls a high EQ. "He is always polite, even when he doesn't agree with you," Banga says.
