Morgan Stanley chief snags former Merrill Lynch colleague

Morgan Stanley's James Gorman continued to put his stamp on the firm's executive ranks by hiring his former Merrill Lynch colleague Greg Fleming to oversee investment management and global research.

Fleming, 46, starts in February as president of Morgan Stanley Investment Management and will report to Gorman, who becomes chief executive officer on Jan. 1, according to a statement Sunday from the New York-based firm. Fleming, who worked at Merrill from 1992 until January after the takeover by Bank of America, will become a member of Morgan Stanley's management and operating committees.

The firm is reshaping its management team before Gorman, Morgan Stanley's 51-year-old co-president, succeeds John Mack as chief executive at the end of the year. Mack, 65, the chairman and chief executive since 2005, is remaining as chairman. Morgan Stanley was the second-biggest U.S. securities firm behind Goldman Sachs last year when both converted to banks.

Last week, Morgan Stanley said Chief Financial Officer Colm Kelleher, 52, and Investment Banking Chief Paul Taubman, 48, will become co-presidents of the institutions securities business. Ruth Porat, 52, head of the banking team that advises financial institutions, was named to replace Kelleher as CFO, while Mitch Petrick, 47, was ousted as the firm's sales and trading chief.

Fleming, who was president and chief operating officer at Merrill, left within days after Bank of America completed its Jan. 1 takeover of the New York-based securities firm. Fleming had helped negotiate the sale, which rescued Merrill Lynch even as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was collapsing into bankruptcy.