McCann replaces Gorman in brokerage, banking and trust slot. Robert McCann has been made chairman and president of Merrill Lynch’s private-client division. He replaces James Gorman, who has been put in charge of corporate acquisitions, a new position.

“Bob McCann is extremely well suited to lead Global Private Client,” Merrill chairman and CEO Stan O’Neal says in a press release. “In his 20-plus-year career at Merrill Lynch, he has contributed greatly to the success of the company's equities, institutional sales, research, trading and wealth management businesses,” O’Neal continues, adding that he views McCann as a “a key strategic advisor.”

A way with words

Merrill’s “global private client” group encompasses its brokerage, banking and trust businesses serving individuals, families and “small” businesses. “‘Small’ meaning anything smaller than a large corporation,” says a Merrill spokesman.

Although McCann has spent most of his working life at Merrill, he went missing for a few months in mid 2003. After a short stint as vice chairman of AXA Financial, Merrill rehired him in August 2003 and named him vice chairman of wealth management. That position, a new job at the time, put him in charge Merrill’s asset management, brokerage and research units.

As a result, some top executives who had been direct reports to O’Neal became answerable to McCann. Those included Gorman, asset management head Robert Doll and research chief Candace Brown. In the latest configuration, however, the heads of asset management, research and “private client” revert to reporting directly to O’Neal, according to a Merrill spokesman.

The spokesman adds that Merrill has no plans to replace McCann as head of wealth management – “though obviously a big part of ‘private client’ is running wealth management,” he says, apparently suggesting that McCann will continue to oversee wealth management as it relates to the private-client group. But the obviousness of the spokesman's assertion is obscured by Merrill’s miles-wide definition of “wealth management” to include just about every financial service this side of investment banking.

I said “dance”

At the time of his departure in 2003, McCann was in charge of Merrill’s securities research. In the two years prior he had been, in reverse succession, COO of “global” markets and investment banking, head of the company’s institutional-client division, and head of “global” equity markets.

Merrill seems to require versatility in its brass, especially under O’Neal. Whether that’s good or bad is a matter of opinion. A source who asked not to be identified dismisses the suggestion that the “musical chairs” aspect of life in Merrill’s upper echelon breeds discontent. “They’re good at testing their talent, [at taking] people out of their comfort zones to see who can do what,” the source says. “[It’s an approach that] can build strong, confident leaders.”

Gorman, who joined Merrill from McKinsey & Co. in 1999, had been head of Merrill’s private-client group since 2001. O’Neal says Gorman’s new role as M&A chief “reflects the increasing importance we will place on driving acquisition, joint venture and other business development activity in a focused manner across business lines as we execute our growth strategies.” Gorman will report to O’Neal.

New York-based Merrill says it advises clients on assets of about $1.5 trillion. It has assets under management of about $480 billion. –FWR