KEEPING IT Simple

IN HIS FIRST YEAR AS CEO OF GIANT BNY MELLON CORP., ROBERT KELLY IS NOT ONLY NAVIGATING THE TRICKY LIQUIDITY AND CREDIT TERRAIN WROUGHT BY THE SUBPRIME CRISIS, BUT HE IS ALSO EXECUTING A MEGAMERGER. SOUNDS TOUGH. BUT SIMPLICITY IS A VIRTUE, AND KELLY IS PROVING THAT DOING A COUPLE OF COMPLEMENTARY THINGS GLOBALLY-AND EXTREMELY WELL-CAN GENERATE TOP-FLIGHT PERFORMANCE.

Robert Kelly has been a CEO for little more than two years, but few people know the ins and outs of financial markets-or how to pull off a successful big merger-better than the head of the recently merged Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

While running Toronto Dominion Bank's European trading desk in the 1980s, …