Merrill Lynch announced today that it is creating a new Global Private Client Group (GPC) to combine the firm’s U.S. and International Private Client Groups. It will be headed by James P. Gorman, executive vice president and current president of U.S. Private Client. SVP Kelly Martin, the current president of the International Private Client Group, is stepping down to “pursue other opportunities. “
“To take our private client business to the next level of profitable growth, we need to recognize that increasingly it is a global business, and manage it as such,” says Stan O’Neal, chief executive officer. “The evolving marketplace for wealth management makes the distinctions between ‘U.S.’ and ‘international’ obsolete. Merrill Lynch has always been successful by designing our business around our clients, and today, clients with sophisticated wealth management needs are defined less and less by geographic borders. James Gorman, a talented executive of broad experience who has done an excellent job leading the U.S. Private Client Group, will work with a leadership team drawn from around the world to magnify the benefits that a global organizational structure can bring to clients and employees, whether they reside in Europe, the Americas or Asia.”
Gorman added: “We have a premier, global brand in wealth management. By approaching private client as a global business with regional differences, rather than as a collection of local businesses, Merrill believes it is in the best possible position to accelerate growth and create unique value for its clients.”
Merrill says that the benefits of a global organization include a broad range of products and services to meet every wealth management need ; an expanded, global talent pool with more opportunities for professional development; and the ability to efficiently leverage technology and other infrastructure to elevate client service.
Gorman had been president of the U.S. Private Client group since May 2000, and was responsible for managing the firm’s financial advisory force, as well as the wealth management services of the firm. He joined Merrill Lynch in July 1999 as the chief marketing officer. Earlier, he was a senior partner with McKinsey & Co., New York. From 1982 to 1985, Gorman, who is Australian , was an attorney at Phillips Fox & Masel in Melbourne.