BofA Could Take Cue From Ford, IBM

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Bank of America (BAC)'s board might do well to look outside the banking sector for a CEO to replace Ken Lewis, who will leave the post at the end of the year.

Certainly the strategy has worked for Ford Motor Co. (F) which is in the midst of an impressive turnaround without having to rely on government aid as GM and Chrysler have had to do. The architect, of course, is Alan Mulally, who joined Ford as President and CEO in 2006 after a long career at Boeing Co. (BA).

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Perhaps the best example of an outsider fixing a troubled company is Lou Gerstner, who had no experience in the tech industry when he took the top job at IBM (IBM) in 1993. Gerstner, a veteran of RJR Nabisco and American Express (AXP) is widely credited with saving the company, which was under threat from the rise of the personal computer.

"Sometimes you can make the argument that if you approach something with a clear view and an open palette you're going to get a much more intelligent and objective view of things than someone who's embedded in the industry and whose opinions are already well formed. So I don't buy this argument that you couldn't find leadership from outside the banking industry," says Rolfe "Rik" Kopelan, managing partner with Wall Street recruiting firm Capstone Partnership.

Of course GM and Chrysler also brought in outsiders to shake things up. Former AT&T (T) CEO Ed Whitacre is now GM's Chairman, while Bob Nardelli joined Chrysler after serving at General Electric (GE) and Home Depot (HD). Nardelli took Chrysler into bankruptcy before leaving the company earlier this year.