Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MWD) today announced the appointments of two new Managing Directors to the Firm, significantly strengthening Morgan Stanley’s platform and presence in Australia.
Richard Wagner joins the Firm as co-head with Rick Ball of Australian IBD. Richard joins from ABN-AMRO where he was Head of Corporate Finance in Australia since 2003. He is one of the leading M&A practitioners in the Australian market having been involved in and led major transactions with a focus in the energy, utilities and infrastructure sectors.
Peter Brownie joins Morgan Stanley as a Sydney based Managing Director. In his previous role at ABN-AMRO he led and advised on numerous IPO’s, takeover defences, mergers, acquisitions and capital raisings spanning the food and beverage, property, services and transport sectors.
In their new roles, they will have responsibility for further developing relationships with Australian and international clients and deepening the Firm’s Australian franchise.
Mike Berchtold, President and Head of Investment Banking for Morgan Stanley Asia Pacific, said, “These important senior appointments reflect our commitment to invest in Australia, an increasingly critical market within the Asia Pacific region and globally."
Morgan Stanley Australia CEO Steve Harker said, “Richard and Peter will be highly additive to Morgan Stanley. They bring expertise and perspectives to a team that is performing strongly with significant activity in 2005 already recorded in the financial services, utility, energy, property, pharmaceutical and general industrial sectors.”
Rick Ball said, “We have developed a strong business over the last six years that has delivered excellent results for our clients. With Richard and Peter we are able to broaden our platform and extend our offering to corporate Australia.”
Morgan Stanley’s Australian operations include mergers and acquisitions advice and financing; fixed income; institutional equities sales, research and trading; and international asset management. The Firm’s headcount in Australia has increased from 48 to 250 over the past six years.
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm and a market leader in securities, asset management and credit services. With more than 600 offices in 28 countries, Morgan Stanley connects people, ideas and capital to help clients achieve their financial aspirations.