James Gorman will cede his role as Morgan Stanley chairman at year-end, capping a nearly two-decade run at the firm in which he rescued it from the brink of failure and turned it into a wealth-management powerhouse.
Gorman, 65, disclosed his plan Thursday at the company's annual shareholder meeting. No replacement was immediately named, though Chief Executive Officer Ted Pick is expected to take that post eventually.
The decision to step down after giving up the CEO role in January is seen as a vote of confidence in Pick's leadership.
When Gorman first rose to the top at the then-embattled firm in 2010, his predecessor, John Mack, stuck around for two years as board chair before Gorman consolidated his hold on the company.
Gorman pulled off a Wall Street rarity last year — picking a successor while persuading the losing candidates to stick around anyway.
The former McKinsey & Co. executive has been public in telegraphing his timeline for giving up his duties and had previously signaled he would vacate his post as chairman by the end of this year.
The Australia-born banker jumped from Merrill Lynch in 2006 to help rejuvenate Morgan Stanley's wealth-management business.
