Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GS), is reported to be among candidates in the running to replace Bank of England governor Mervyn King, the Sunday Times reported yesterday, without citing its sources.
The London-based newspaper, that promoted O’Neill’s “unique qualifications” for the job (O’Neill helps oversee more than $700 billion in management), said O’Neill had been approached by Britain’s finance ministry several months ago.
O’Neill, who is best known for creating in 2001 the BRICs acronym, told Bloomberg‘s John Dawson when asked in Sept. 2007 if he would be interested in the post at a time when the British government was considering whether to reappoint King for a second five-year term, that he could not imagine that “anyone would be daft enough to offer it to me.” He added that he very much enjoyed his job at Goldman Sachs.
The New York-based firm declined to comment on the report.
King, who for the last ten years helped guide Britain’s $2.5 trillion economy, is scheduled to leave the governorship in June 2013.
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