Pick to chair Morgan Stanley as Gorman retires from the board

Morgan Stanley has confirmed the anticipated appointment of CEO Ted Pick to chair the firm’s board of directors from the start of 2025.

Pick has been considered the likely successor to James Gorman who will leave the chairman role at the end of 2024 as reported in May following his decision to step down as CEO in January having earned a hefty $37 million in compensation for his final year in the role.  

“It is time to hand the reins to the next generation of exceptional talent at Morgan Stanley. It has been an honor and a privilege to have led and been part of Morgan Stanley for nearly two decades, and I was blessed to work with so many talented, hard-working and values-driven colleagues. I am confident that with Ted’s tremendous leadership Morgan Stanley will continue its strong trajectory to even greater heights and new successes in the years ahead.”

It was announced this week that Gorman will become chair of the Disney board and while he will retire from employment with Morgan Stanley, he will become chairman emeritus as he steps down as chairman of the board.  

Chairman-elect Pick will take up his new role in addition to his CEO duties and paid tribute to the outgoing chairman.

“Under James’ extraordinary leadership over the past 15 years, Morgan Stanley has become a world-class global financial institution with a long-term sustainable business model. He has transformed our institution and given it a winning strategy and culture,” he said. “I would like to thank him for his dedication to our Firm and the guidance and counsel he has personally provided me over the years. I would also like to thank the Board for the confidence they have expressed in me.”

When he started at CEO earlier this year, Pick made a point of highlighting the special relationship he has with the wealth management side of Morgan Stanley.

"The wealth business is actually in my blood," Pick said during a conference in January. "My dad and my father-in-law were both brokers once upon a time, and I grew up studying that business as a kid.”

Before becoming CEO in 2024, Pick served as Morgan Stanley’s co-President, co-head of firm strategy and head of the Institutional Securities Group, overseeing Investment Banking, Equities, Fixed Income, Global Capital Markets and Research.