January 2014 marked the 100th birthday of the financial powerhouse known as Merrill Lynch. The former chairman & son of one of ML’s founders went to Amherst College and currently lives in VT. Winthrop Smith is one of the few people to have known all of the CEOs of Merrill Lynch. He recently wrote a book, Catching Lightning in a Bottle: How Merrill Lynch Revolutionized the Financial World, and talks about the beginnings and history of Merrill Lynch.