Morgan Stanley CEO Gorman to Step Down Within 12 Months (3)

James Gorman, who transformed Morgan Stanley after it nearly collapsed during the global financial crisis, plans to step down as chief executive officer within the next year and assume the role of executive chairman.

“It is the board’s and my expectation that it will occur at some point in the next 12 months,” Gorman, 64, said Friday at the firm’s annual meeting. “That is the current expectation in the absence of a major change in the external environment.”

James Gorman

Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

Gorman, who became CEO at the beginning of 2010, said there are three finalists to take over as CEO when ...