The credit crunch has now claimed one of the most powerful women in the financial world, Morgan Stanley co-president Zoe Cruz. Once considered a potential successor to chairman and chief executive John Mack, Cruz (pictured right) is retiring from Morgan after 25 years of service.
In order to "navigate the current challenging conditions," Mack has made some other changes in senior management, effective Dec. 1.
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Walid Chammah and James Gorman are now co-presidents of the firm. Institutional securities will report to Chammah, who will continue to reside in London, and wealth management and asset management will report to Gorman. Former co-president Robert Scully joined the new office of the chairman, where he will focus on key clients, including global sovereign investors. He reports to Mack. Michael Petrick will oversee the firm's trading business and serve as co-head of institutional securities sales and trading, alongside Jerker Johansson. And Neal Shear becomes chairman of the commodities business, which has been strong.
Cruz, who received good wishes from Mack, joins quite a list. The subprime mortgage club also includes Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Stan O'Neal, Citigroup Inc.'s Charles Prince and online brokerage E-Trade Financial Corp. CEO Mitch Caplan, who just said he would step down. Don't forget the scores of other bankers as well as speculation of Bear Stearns Cos. chairman and CEO James Cayne retiring early. Earlier this week, Bear said it would cut another 650 jobs.
Also, the AP reported that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other top regulators met Thursday with loan servicing companies and other industry executives to deal with the crunch and prevent a recession. — Baz Hiralal
Go to Morgan Stanley's announcement
