FACTBOX: Friends, foes and others weigh in on Lehman's Fuld

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Richard Fuld, whom many blame for the collapse last year of storied investment bank Lehman Brothers LEHMQ.PK -- whose failure triggered the global economic crisis -- suggested late last week that he was torn about speaking out to defend his record as CEO.

With the September 15 anniversary of Lehman's bankruptcy nearing, Fuld seemed burdened but not crushed by the building pressure, when tracked down at his country home in Ketchum, Idaho. Since the collapse, he has ducked the spotlight, allowing an image of greed, arrogance and failure to cling unchallenged to his name.

Fuld began his Lehman-devoted career as a commercial paper trader in 1969, and over the years ascended the ranks until he built one of the most respected and feared pillars of Wall Street. Here are some comments from friends, foes and other observers, on Richard Fuld:

KEN AULETTA, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR OF SEVERAL BOOKS INCLUDING THE 1986 'GREED AND GLORY ON WALL STREET: THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF LEHMAN':

"In 1985 and '86, the thought that Dick Fuld would have successfully run Lehman Brothers and integrate investment banking with the trading function, I never would have thought that possible. He was so angry and full of rage at investment bankers, yet he built a very successful company where investment bankers were a prominent part of it.

"So he clearly changed, and did some good things that you've got to recognize. I have an impression that he became a different guy than the guy I interviewed many times when I was doing my book. He seemed to grow, and became a larger person, a larger business executive.

"Everyone makes a comeback -- Martha Stewart went to jail, Richard Nixon said 'You won't have Richard Nixon to kick around any more' when he lost the governorship, and then he won the presidency. I mean, Bill Clinton was impeached. I am always amazed at the resiliency of the American public, and their willingness to forgive people."

BRAD HINTZ, AN ANALYST AT SANFORD C. BERNSTEIN AND FORMER CFO OF LEHMAN IN THE LATE 1990s:

"Fuld loves Lehman Brothers. He loved Lehman. His goal was to make Lehman Brothers the company that it was when he was a young partner in the early 1980s, when it was one of the great powers on the Street. Fuld was given a company on life support (after the American Express spin-off). But Dick knows how to push the buttons that allow Wall Street to make money.

"He is a master at running a fixed income division, and he is a tough leader. But he doesn't deserve to be vilified."

LAWRENCE McCARTHY, FORMER HEAD OF DISTRESSED BOND TRADING AT LEHMAN, WHO NOW WORKS FOR RAFFERTY CAPITAL:

"Other than six or seven people, no one really knew him. It was like he was in his own world on the 31st floor. He was arrogant. He was never in touch with the troops. In my four years there, he never came down to the trading floor. Not once. Even though he started as a trader.

"I think he'll have a tough time finding clients for a new business. There is a lot of distrust out there."

LAWRENCE McDONALD, A FORMER LEHMAN VICE PRESIDENT OF DISTRESSED DEBT AND CONVERTIBLE SECURITIES TRADING, AUTHOR OF

'A COLOSSAL FAILURE OF COMMON SENSE':

"Fuld has a bunker mentality. He blamed the markets, blamed the short-sellers. He thought you don't go out of business for being levered 40 times, you go out of business for being caught with 40 times leverage. He is so arrogant. He fired the two best risk managers -- Michael Gelband and Alex Kirk."

"I think his reputation is damaged beyond control. The pending (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and Justice Department cases can really damage his reputation further."

PAUL ASSAIANTE, WHO PLAYS SQUASH WITH RICHARD FULD AND

TENNIS WITH KATHY FULD, RICHARD'S WIFE, AND COACHES AT TRINITY COLLEGE:

"I've spoken to him a few times in the last year, and we are definitely looking forward to playing some squash in the next few weeks. He's certainly trying to rebuild and deal with all of the stuff that swirled around him, but I know he's trying to stay positive and looking forward. Hopefully we'll get on the squash court soon and have some fun." Fuld is "competitive" on the squash court.

"He was such a public fellow, so philanthropic, he was everywhere. I didn't know very many people that were more generous than him. And now it's probably hard to know where he should and shouldn't be."

(Reporting and compiled by Jonathan Spicer and Jui Chakravorty, editing by Matthew Lewis)