Dan Sontag is leaving his post as leader of Merrill Lynch’s 15,000 financial advisers following Sallie Krawcheck’s arrival as his new boss, reported the Financial Times. The move marks the departure of one of the last Merrill from Bank of America’s senior management. Mr Sontag, a 31-year veteran of Merrill, said he was retiring from his post as head of the brokerage force, but he pledged his support for Krawcheck, whose arrival at BofA as head of global wealth and investment management was announced on Monday. “We’ve worked through the major challenges we had to get through and now I ask all of you to step up to the plate and drive the business to where we know it can go,” Mr Sontag said, according to a BofA source. “I’ve offered Sallie any help I can provide and ask the leadership team to give Sallie the same support you gave me.” Since last October, when the management team for Merrill Lynch’s investment banking, capital markets and wealth management units was announced following Merrill’s agreement to sell itself to BofA, several Merrill veterans have left the company, either of their own volition or with a push from BofA headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Last Top Merrill Lynch Exec Exits BofA
Dan Sontag is resigning as head of BofA’s brokerage business, as Sallie Krawcheck is hired to run the wealth management division.
August 5, 2009