The Guardian reported yesterday that the CEO of Sallie Mae, the largest student loans provider in the US, had a disastrous conference call and struggled to deliver a coherent message to analysts.

Albert Lord, the company's former chairman who took full time control as CEO this week, left commentators bemused by admitting that he did not know the answer to a series of questions about the firm's finances.

At one point, he declined to answer questions about the company's status, telling an analyst: "You should give [investor relations officer] Steve [McGarry] a call".

The analyst responded: "But you're the chief executive; you're the guy who just took over the company."

Lord replied: "Yeah, that's exactly right. You should give Steve a call. Next question."

In response to another question, he simply said: "You're talking to the wrong guy, I don't know the answer".

A proposed $25bn buyout of the firm led by a private equity group fell apart this year as the credit crunch began to take hold in the financial markets. Lord countered questions aggressively "I'm quite aware that on the back of a failed transaction, there are a lot of unhappy people on the other end of this call. It's ironic because it was unhappy shareholders who originally put me in this chair in the first place".

Lord then told the financial community that he would speak to them again in New York in mid-January, puzzlingly adding: "I would suggest you get there early because I can assure you , you will be going through a metal detector."

Wrapping up proceedings, he said: "Steve, let's go. There's no questions, let's get the [expletive] out of here."

This would be hilarious were it not for the fact that Sallie Mae accounts for some $127bn of student loans, amounting to 27% of student financing in the US. Mr. Lord is a serious candidate for some executive coaching over the Christmas break...