Don't call him Phil Purcell. (Or Jim, but that's another story.) When James Gorman became CEO of Morgan Stanley last year, naysayers groused that his background was too similar to that of Purcell, whose aversion to risk sparked an old-boy shareholder revolt that led to John Mack's triumphant return. Like Purcell, Gorman toiled for years as a consultant for McKinsey & Co. before moving to Wall Street. And like Purcell, he worked only in retail brokerage -- a far cry from the rough and tumble institutional businesses in which Morgan Stanley, like Mack, made its name. But that's ancient history. Come next year, the Australian-born Gorman, 53, will take full control of Morgan Stanley as Mack, who recruited him from Merrill Lynch & Co. on advice from BlackRock's Larry Fink, leaves his chairmanship behind. Gorman has already won kudos for freeing the firm from paying $800 million a year to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial in Japan, its savior during the financial crisis. He's also cut compensation costs, picked up thousands of Citigroup's Smith Barney brokers for a song and is trying to turn around the bond-trading desk. But with Morgan Stanley's stock down 50% this year, worse than its peers, Gorman is alone at the top just when he might want some company.