Two candidates have emerged as the front-runners to take over for CEO James Gorman when he eventually retires from Morgan Stanley (MS +1.00%).
The investment bank and asset and wealth manager announced today that Ted Pick and Andy Saperstein will become co-presidents of Morgan Stanley.
Pick currently leads the bank's institutional securities business and will now also take over Morgan Stanley's international operations and become co-head of the bank's strategy and execution. Saperstein leads Morgan Stanley's wealth management business and will take over firmwide markets.
Citing an anonymous source, Bloomberg reported that Gorman, who has been CEO since 2010, has told the board of directors he plans to stay in the top role for another three years. Despite other changes to senior leadership, Bloomberg also reported that Pick and Saperstein are seen as the top candidates to replace Gorman.
"I am highly confident one of them will be the CEO in the future," said Gorman, referring to his leadership team in an interview with Bloomberg. "It feels like the right time to more formally set up a transition over the next few years."
James Gorman, Morgan Stanley CEO. Image source: Morgan Stanley.
In other moves, Morgan Stanley announced that Dan Simkowitz, head of investment management, will become co-head of firm strategy and execution alongside Pick. Jonathan Pruzan, currently CFO at the bank, will become chief operating officer, while Sharon Yeshaya, currently the head of investor relations, will replace Pruzan as CFO. The new appointments will be effective June 1.
The news comes just days after JPMorgan Chase installed the two front-runners to replace CEO Jamie Dimon at the top of the company's large consumer bank.
