James P. Gorman CEO of Morgan Stanley Date of Birth: 14.07.1958 Country: USA

Biography of James Gorman

James Gorman is the Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley, a position he has held since January 2010. He was born in Melbourne, Australia, and attended Xavier College before moving on to the University of Melbourne, where he earned bachelor's degrees in arts and law.

After completing his education, Gorman joined the law firm Phillips Fox and Masel in 1982. A few years later, he moved to the United States to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School.

In February 2006, Gorman joined Morgan Stanley. He initially served as the co-head of the strategic planning division alongside Colm Kelleher, the Chief Financial Officer. In December 2007, Gorman was appointed as one of the Presidents of Morgan Stanley, sharing the position with Walid Chammah. He was responsible for wealth management and asset management.

In September 2009, it was announced that Gorman would become the new CEO of Morgan Stanley in January 2010. Two years later, in January 2012, he also took on the role of Chairman after John J. Mack retired. Gorman was highly compensated for his leadership, reportedly earning $9.75 million in 2012 alone.

Under Gorman's leadership, Morgan Stanley achieved significant milestones, including the creation of the world's largest wealth management platform through the merger of Morgan Stanley and Citi's Smith Barney. The firm's asset management division grew to include over 16,000 financial advisors managing client assets totaling $1.8 trillion.

Prior to his tenure at Morgan Stanley, Gorman held executive positions at Merrill Lynch. He joined the firm in 1999 as the Director of Marketing and later took on strategic and research-related roles. From 2001 to 2005, he served as the head of Merrill Lynch's U.S. operations and then assumed responsibility for global private client operations.

Before his time at Merrill Lynch, Gorman was a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, where he focused on financial services. His expertise in finance led to his inclusion in Bloomberg Markets' list of the "50 Most Influential People in the World" in 2011.

In addition to his roles at Morgan Stanley, Gorman serves on several advisory boards, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Trustees of Columbia University, and the International Advisory Council of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He has also held positions in various organizations, such as the Business Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Board of Directors of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.