With Jim Hawkes at the Helm, Eaton Vance Stands Up

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On November 1996, newly installed CEO and President Jim Hawkes assembled the entire Eaton Vance(EV - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) staff and posed a question: "Will the real Eaton Vance please stand up?"

Hawkes said that the sleepy, niche-oriented Boston money manager -- muni bonds constituted 51% of managed assets -- hadn't lived up to its potential and needed to establish a bigger presence in the booming equity market, then 21% of assets under management, if it wanted to thrive.

Six years later, the "real Eaton Vance" has more than stood up, it's soared: Once-choppy annual sales surged from $181.4 million in 1996 to $519.5 million for the 12 months through July, while earnings climbed from $37.4 million to $128.7 million. And the company's stock has surged 441% since his speech, compared with the S&P 500's 19% gain. Most importantly, the company's assets in the equities market have surged to 60%.

Now, Eaton Vance faces a new set of challenges -- a weakened stock market, increasing competition for wealthy clients, a stock that some on Wall Street perceive as pricey, and criticism of its "exchange funds" that offer a tax break exclusively for the rich.

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Eaton Vance's James Hawkes Age: 60 Tenure: Joined Company in 1970, CEO Since 1996

But Hawkes believes the staff at Eaton Vance, now one of the best-diversified asset managers, is positioned to stand up again.

Neither Rocket Science Nor Revolution

When Hawkes says the transition "wasn't exactly rocket science," it's more than just his characteristic modesty: Hawkes began his professional life as an aerospace engineer.

But his career took a turn in 1970, when he joined Eaton Vance as an analyst, steadily climbing the ladder to become president and CEO in 1996, and chairman a year later. One might assume a lifer like Hawkes would opt for the tradition-bound route, eschewing grand designs or tampering with the formula. But Hawkes defies that assumption -- as well as the popular notion of the past decade that companies must look externally for great leaders.