The 62-year-old Stanford-educated engineer has a reputation for being wooden and lacking charisma .

NPR: Will Japanese Power Shift Change U.S. Relations?

Lacking charisma or a record of delivering better public services, he has built his electoral strategy on delivering better security for war-weary Iraqis.

ECONOMIST: Bombs in Iraq

Thain, a dispassionate, numbers-driven executive lacking the back-slapping charisma of a Richard Grasso or a David Komansky, transformed the Big Board from its clubby ways to a global, electronically driven exchange group.

FORBES: Merrill Hires Mr. Fix-It