It's 14 years since the sudden death of Ed O'Neal saw Frank Conroy step in as executive chair for a second time at St George Bank, an all too familiar experience for the Westpac CEO turned board chair.As after the death of Jim Sweeney four years earlier, Conroy was only a short time holder of the posts of both CEO and chair. It's a model mostly frowned upon.It's a shame. Modern corporate governance may demand a split but plenty of iconic companies have used the model and it is considered best practice in some places at times - at French public sector firms, for example.Local precedents will grate with some. Neither Rupert Murdoch nor Kerry Stokes managed to attract wide acclaim for their stewardship of media companies under this governance model.Now Bank of America's shareholder have voted to endorse merging the CEO and chairman roles, the owners of the company buying into the view that there's only room for one great cabin on a ship.Don't let the reform stop there.The management team can be the board, with no need for outside directors at all.Give it a go some day in banking in Australia.