Who is Ted Pick, Morgan Stanley’s new CEO?

Banking veteran Ted Pick is set to become the next CEO of Morgan Stanley, one of Wall Street’s most prestigious banks.

Edward “Ted” Pick will officially assume the role on 1 January 2024, succeeding James Gorman. 

Gorman has been the executive director of the investment bank since 2010. He announced his plans to step down in May but will remain at the company as executive chairman of the board.

Pick, 54, has served as co-president of Morgan Stanley for the past two years. 

He first joined the investment bank back in 1990 and has held several titles since then, including managing director, head of equity capital markets and global head of sales and trading. 

During the 2008 financial crisis, Pick helped to actively raise capital for the company, which came dangerously close to collapsing. He attributes a large part of its recovery to Gorman.

“Thanks to James’ leadership, we are quite a different firm from the one that we knew during the depths of the financial crisis,” the new CEO told Reuters.

Following Wednesday’s announcement, Pick said he is deeply honoured to head the bank and is excited for its future growth. He also credited Gorman’s leadership for making Morgan Stanley “well-positioned to succeed across market cycles”.

Gorman returned the favour in a statement.

“He sat side-by-side with me for the last decade on pretty much every important issue this firm has been through. And you know, I saw him up and close when things were very tense, and he didn’t wilt,” the outgoing CEO said. 

“I know what it takes to be CEO of a global company. It takes enormous resilience and mental toughness, and he’s got that.”

Born in New York, Pick graduated with distinction from Middlebury College, in the US state of Vermont, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

He is a trustee at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, serving on the Investment and Nominating Committee and the Governance Committee.