After more than a decade as head of the Financial Services Roundtable, Steve Bartlett will be stepping down at the end of this year.
Bartlett, president and chief executive of the trade group since 1999, listed several reasons for his retirement in an open letter including the improved economy, stabilization of the financial services industry, his long tenure and the upcoming elections in November.
"The House and Senate will have new faces, new dynamics, new leadership in some cases, and perhaps new majorities," Bartlett wrote. "At the White House, we will either have a new president, or a freshly re-elected one with a new mandate. And we will have new faces at most of the agencies. Assuming I cannot stay forever, making a change at the beginning of a governing cycle is better than doing so in the middle."
He also noted that a "fresh face" can help the industry regain its reputation. "A new messenger will provide some new ways of delivering the message," he wrote.
The Roundtable has grown from 56 members, which were all banks, to 97 large financial services companies from different sectors during his tenure, Bartlett wrote. "In short, after 12-and-a-half years at the helm, it's time for a new captain," Bartlett wrote.
A search is already under way for his replacement.
