John Mack is in listening mode. That is what Morgan Stanley employees were told when the new chairman and CEO of the firm visited London. They had better believe it. No-one else does. Sources elsewhere in the City of London and Wall Street expect swift change across the business.
Morgan Stanley’s retail business, the former Dean Witter operation, will get most attention. Mr Mack was an architect of its merger with Morgan Stanley but he has made no secret of his dissatisfaction at the way former CEO Phil Purcell failed to manage the cultural conflicts between the brokerage and the blue-blooded Wall Street firm.
