Bank of America wealth-management leader Sallie Krawcheck tapped John Thiel (left) as the new head of Merrill Lynch on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson. Thiel will begin leading the brokerage's 15,695 financial advisors on May 1. The new head of Merrill's "thundering herd" joined the firm in 1989 as an advisor in Tampa, Florida. Most recently he has run the private bank and investment group for Merrill.
Thiel replaces Lyle Mother, whose May 1 retirement was announced in May 1.
"John is one of our most accomplished senior managers, and I know he will build on his successes to impact our wealth management business more broadly," Krawcheck (left) said in a statement. "John possesses deep wealth management and Merrill Lynch experience and has a strong commitment to our advisors, our clients and our culture."
In the first quarter of 2011, Merrill Lynch profits stood at $531 million, up 68.6% quarter-over-quarter and up 22.4% year-over-year. Revenues totaled $3.54 billion compared with $2.99 billion a year ago, for a gain of 18.5%.
