John Alexander Thain (born May 26, 1955) is an American businessman, investment banker, and former chair and CEO of the CIT Group.Thain was the last chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch before its merger with Bank of America.
He was designated to become president of global banking, securities, and wealth management at the newly combined company, but resigned on January 22, 2009.
Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, reportedly forced Thain to step down after several controversies, such as the losses at Merrill Lynch which proved to be far larger than previously estimated, and the award of huge executive bonuses.
He is currently a board member of Uber appointed by former Uber chief executive officer Travis Kalanick on September 29, 2017.