Morgan Stanley’s Fleming to depart, Kelleher named president

Morgan Stanley said Greg Fleming, who led the firm’s retail brokerage, has decided to leave the bank and Colm Kelleher was named president.

Kelleher, 58, who led the investment banking and trading division, now also gains responsibility for the brokerage, Chief Executive Officer James Gorman said Wednesday in a memo to staff that was obtained by Bloomberg. Shelley O’Connor and Andy Saperstein, 48, were named co-heads of wealth management, according to a separate memo.

Gorman, 57, intends to stay as CEO for five to seven years, two people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing personnel matters. Fleming’s departure eliminates him as a potential successor and establishes Kelleher as the most likely CEO in the event Gorman leaves in the near term.

Fleming, 52, who previously worked with Gorman at Merrill Lynch & Co., joined Morgan Stanley in 2009 and took over the brokerage unit a year later as the firm was integrating its purchase of Smith Barney from Citigroup Inc. Kelleher has been at the New York-based firm for more than 25 years.

During his career, Fleming has played a major role in Charlotte banking history. At Merrill Lynch, he helped negotiatr the sale of the New York investment bank to Bank of America in the fall of 2008. Earlier, in his role as a Merrill investment banker, he advised Charlotte-based First Union in its purchase of Wachovia in 2001. Observer staff writer Rick Rothacker contributed.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Morgan Stanley’s Fleming to depart, Kelleher named president."