The power behind the throne at Morgan Stanley - here's who is in line to replace CEO James Gorman

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The power behind the throne at Morgan Stanley - here's who is in line to replace CEO James Gorman

James Gorman

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman

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  • The announcement that Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein will step down this fall has sparked new interest in succession planning at uptown rival Morgan Stanley.
  • Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman has been in his role since 2010 and he isn't likely to step down for another three to five years, sources told Business Insider.
  • Still, the firm's board has already drawn out a list of potential successors to Gorman.

Goldman Sachs made headlines earlier this month when it announced president David Solomon would succeed Lloyd Blankfein as the investment bank's CEO in October.

That ended months of speculation about when Blankfein would give up the reigns of the white-shoe firm. It also has sparked interest in who might succeed James Gorman, CEO of its uptown rival, Morgan Stanley, who has held the chief executive role for the past eight years and is credited with transforming the bank into a wealth management powerhouse.

Business Insider has learned that Gorman, 60, will likely stay at the firm as chief executive office for an additional three to five years.

In the short term, if Gorman were to step down for an unexpected reason, he would likely be replaced by Colm Kelleher, the president of the bank, sources said.

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But the company does have a short list of other senior executives who are likely contenders to succeed Gorman.

A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the bank's succession plans.

Here's the list:

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Franck Petitgas - Cohead of international

Franck Petitgas - Cohead of international

Frenchman Franck Petitgas, 57, who has served as Morgan Stanley's global co-head of investment banking for years, was elevated this month to head the firm's international business.

Based in London, Petitgas joined Morgan Stanley in 1993 and was appointed to cohead investment banking alongside Mark Eichorn in 2012.

He was considered a dark horse candidate for the chief financial officer position in 2013.

Ted Pick - Head of institutional securities group

Ted Pick - Head of institutional securities group

Ted Pick, 49, who was responsible for turning Morgan Stanley's equities business into the top stock trading franchise on Wall Street, was promoted alongside Petitgas in July.

He will now oversee the Institutional Securities Group, which spans sales and trading and investment banking.

Pick spent most of his career in equities, and is credited with the bank's successes in the business in the aftermath of the financial crisis. He's also known for having a sailor's mouth on the trading floor.

During his time at the bank, he played a role in some of the largest stock sales, including an auction by Google and the initial public offering of China Construction Bank.

In 2015 he was given responsibility for turning around the bank's struggling fixed income unit. That business has since rebounded, and in the first three months of 2018 it posted its best results in three years.

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Jonathan Pruzan - Chief financial officer

Jonathan Pruzan - Chief financial officer

Jonathan Pruzan, 49, was appointed chief financial officer of Morgan Stanley in 2015, replacing Ruth Porat who left for the same role at Google. Pruzan has been with the firm for nearly 20 years.

Prior to becoming CFO, he coheaded the financial institutions group, serving as a banker to banks on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and capital raising. He also helped financial firms navigate a new regulatory landscape, including the Federal Reserves required annual stress tests.

During his time on Wall Street, Pruzan has advised on some of the largest transaction in history, including Bank of America's $48 billion acquisition of FleetBoston Financial Corp.

He started his career at PaineWebber in 1990 after graduating from Tufts University.

Rob Rooney - Head of technology

Rob Rooney - Head of technology

Rob Rooney oversees Morgan Stanley's technology efforts. In his role he is focused on the bank's efforts in artificial intelligence, automation, cyber security, and digital .

Rooney, who recently moved to New York from London, previously oversaw technology and also served as the firm's head of Europe, Middle East, Africa. He moved to London in 1993 for an assignment that was only meant to last a little over a year, but never relocated.

He joined the bank in 1990 and has also served in a variety of roles across fixed income sales and trading.

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Andy Saperstein - cohead of wealth management group

Andy Saperstein - cohead of wealth management group

Andy Saperstein, 51, cohead of Morgan Stanley's wealth management business, is considered a dark horse for Gorman's role.

He joined the bank in 2006 as chief operating officer of national sales after careers at Merrill Lynch and McKinsey.

In 2006, he joined as COO of national sales and played a major role in the growth of Morgan Stanley's wealth business through its acquisition of Citigroup's Smith Barney division.

He became cohead of wealth management, a business that the bank under Gorman has doubled down on to offset declines in trading, alongside Shelley O'Connor in 2016.

Dan Simkowitz - Head of investment management

Dan Simkowitz - Head of investment management

Dan Simkowitz, 52, head of investment management at Morgan Stanley, helms a relatively small business that the bank is trying to grow. The division generated $691 million of revenue in the second quarter, comprising 7% of the bank's overall revenue.

Simkowitz began his career at Morgan Stanley in 1990 and has worked in Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York.

He was promoted to his current role in 2015, previously serving as cohead of global capital markets. He has been involved in some of the largest initial public offering deals in history including Alibaba and Facebook.

Notably, Simkowitz advised the Treasury Department on how to handle the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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