Quotes by David Pottruck

“[He picked up the phone and began to make calls, aware that his firing would ripple far beyond his desk. Pottrucks assistant of 15 years, Colleen Bagan-McGill, was driving through San Francisco with her husband and kids at the start of a long-awaited vacation when her cell phone rang.] How are you doing, honey? ... I need to tell you something. I got fired this morning.”

“[Just before the meeting got started, Andy Grove, the gruff chairman of Intels board at the time, pulled Pottruck aside.] When you got promoted to CEO, ... did that make you a better man? I said no. He said, Well then, do you think the fact that youre no longer CEO of Schwab means youre not a better man? I said, No, I dont think so. He said, Youre as good a man as you were last week. Hold your head high. It helped me a lot.”

“My leaving Schwab was on less than elegant terms, ... What is really humbling is to have time to reflect on what youve done and what you could have done better.”

“Was I in a funk for about a week about that story? Absolutely,”

“The question is: What can we do for less money? What can we do for the man who has $200,000? ... Were working on that.”

“Boards are finding their rhythms.”

“Recent trading volumes are propelling the company to its best quarter ever in terms of revenues and profits.”

“Our continued leadership in online investing is reflected in the growing number of customers using these services at Schwab,”

“We have millions of these customers who are reasonably demanding of services, which were pleased to provide but which have to be paid for, ... Customers have the opportunity to justify their service levels by adding to their account.”

“With a slowing economy and weakening corporate earnings, our clients are facing the most challenging market environment in many years.”