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Wall Street's biggest hotshots of the 1980s were household names: Junk bond king Michael Milken, leveraged buyout artist Henry Kravis, former Salomon chief executive John Gutfreund.
But the individuals who may end up leaving the biggest thumbprint on the way business is done in the 1990s avoid the spotlight. They are the chief information officers, whose legacy will be the tools to manufacture a range of products--from derivatives and collateralized mortgage obligations to mutual funds.
PART OF THE STRATEGY
One of these computer pros, media-shy Martha Gallo, J.P. Morgan co-head of technology and managing director, says simply, "Technology has become part of the business strategy."
Forget Quotrons. Think global trading platforms.
"It's not a matter of technology letting Wall Street do its job better; its a matter of doing the job at all," says David Longobardi, editorial director for Waters Information Services, a securities industry technology publisher.
The investment in technology becomes all the more impressive given that Wall Street has held the line on investment in new workers. According to estimates provided by Waters, the following projects are in the works or recently completed:
* Merrill Lynch & Co. is spending $300 million over three years for a retail broker workstation system...