Purcell's requiem

13 June 2005 By Rob Cox Follow @rob1cox

The CEO survived sustained attacks while results were good. But with Q2 results likely to disappoint, his position became less secure. Morgan Stanley needs to appoint a credible successor to Purcell soon. But it isn’t going the right way about it.

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The following are excerpts from a memo sent to Morgan Stanley employees from resigning chairman and chief executive Philip Purcell:

This morning I am announcing my intention to retire by the time of our next annual shareholder meeting in March, 2006.

It has become clear that in light of the continuing personal attacks on me, and the unprecedented level of negative attention our Firm and each of you has had to endure, that this is the best thing I can do for you, our clients and our shareholders.

I feel strongly that the attacks are unjustified, but unfortunately, they show no signs of abating. A simple reality check tells us that people are spending more time reading about the acrimony and not enough time reading about the outstanding work that is being accomplished by our firm.

I will retire when my successor is appointed. The Board has begun a search for a new Chairman and CEO.

I feel my legacy is in good hands. Morgan Stanley has a great depth of talent and an outstanding management team led by Zoe Cruz and Steve Crawford. We have a strong independent Board which has recently named Miles Marsh lead director. The management team and the Board are unanimously supportive of our integrated securities strategy.

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