It appears that the board of Morgan Stanley realized very late in the game that William Purcell needed to go (see the article in Friday’s Wall Street Journal www.wsj.com, subscription required). I’ve read before that Mr. Purcell wasn’t the most like CEO on Wall Street, but I find it ironic that the word "Director" is used for some of these folks. Can they look in the mirror (after so many talented people were leaving, the stock price under performing and business lines faltering) and say they didn’t know. It was well documented that the board of Morgan Stanley had it’s head in the sand for some time.
There is hope, John Mack is a pretty remarkable leader from what I understand. When he took over and Morgan, I was pleased about the decision. Let’s hope Morgan’s board doesn’t wait til its too late to discover Mack’s knack for turning things around.