Who is Erin Callan?

(Photograph by Jeff Riedel as appeared in Conde Nast Portfolio)

As news broke today of the talented Erin Callan joining Credit Suisse, many people not familiar with Wall Street asked, "Who is Erin Callan?"

It's a fair question and a lot of Main Street Americans do not know who she is.

At the age of 42, she became the Chief Financial Officer of Lehman Brothers. Many considered her the face of a company greatly hurt by the credit crunch. She made frequent appearances on television and tried to calm down investors. She always came across as polished and intelligent.

Unfortunately, she was ousted from that position. For awhile, it was reported that she would remain at Lehman in another capacity.

Today it was reported that she was leaving Lehman for greener pastures: Credit Suisse, a company that has done much better in this bear market.

She comes from humble roots. Her father was a policeman in New York City. She worked hard in school and attended Harvard and NYU School of Law (Class of 90). After law school, she worked as a corporate tax associate at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett.

We wish her the best. Credit Suisse is lucky to have her!