Morgan Stanley shakes up leadership as race for CEO successor intensifies
Morgan Stanley announced a number of leadership changes and set off a competition between potential successors to replace Chief Executive Officer James Gorman in the next few years.
In a statement Gorman said the announcement “reflects the next generation of leadership at Morgan Stanley.”
“I am highly confident one of them will be the CEO in the future,” he told Bloomberg in an interview.
Among the would-be future CEOs of the Wall Street bank are institutional securities business chief Ted Pick and Andy Saperstein, the head of its wealth management unit. Both Pick and Saperstein were named as co-presidents.
Investment management chief Dan Simkowitz was appointed as the co-head of strategy alongside Pick while head of finance, Jon Pruzan, was made the chief operating officer. The bank also named its head of investor relations, Sharon Yeshaya, as CFO.
Gorman, who has acted as CEO for 11 out his 15 years at Morgan Stanley, informed the board he plans to stay in the role for three more years at least, it is reported.
The bank has benefited from a boom in dealmaking that resulted in its revenue jumping by two thirds at its institutional securities unit, which is led by Pick.
Saperstein runs Morgan Stanley’s wealth management business which, after its revenue surged by 47 per cent in the first quarter, accounted for almost half of the bank’s total revenue.
Morgan Stanley’s shake-up comes just days after JP Morgan Chase conducted its own. The rival bank named Marianne Lake and Jennifer Piepszak as co-heads of its consumer and community bank. Both women are widely seen as the top contenders for CEO Jamie Dimon’s role.