John J. Mack to leave CEO post at Morgan Stanley

John J. Mack will step down as CEO of Morgan Stanley in January but will continue as chairman, the investment bank announced Thursday.

Mack will be succeeded by Co-President James P. Gorman.

Robert Kidder, lead director of Morgan Stanley, said in a statement that Mack told the board 18 months ago he wanted to step back from the CEO role when he turns 65 in November. Mack has led Morgan Stanley for four years.

Morgan Stanley has continued to post losses in the wake of the financial crisis, but has repaid the $25 billion in bailout money it got from the government. Mack has come under some criticism for scaling back the company's risk profile even as rivals like Goldman Sachs have regained momentum as the crisis has ebbed.

Gorman has been co-president of Morgan Stanley since 2007 and has been a key player in the retail brokerage joint venture with Citigroup, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

The bank's other co-president, Walid A. Chammah, will become chairman of Morgan Stanley International at year end and will continue to be based in London.

Source: USA Today