A man who had ruthlessly frozen out his own mentor and who seemed to take pride in firing challengers to his power, Gutfreund found himself spending much of his time suppressing internal revolts. As he did, profits and morale plummeted. A series of ill-advised restructurings led to a spate of high-level resignations, including those of Chicago deal maker Ira Harris and economic guru Henry Kaufman. At his lowest point, Gutfreund narrowly escaped a takeover attempt by the investor Ronald O. Perelman.
