Morgan Stanley has appointed a new head of its banks team within its financial institutions group in North America, a post that has been vacant since the previous head, John Esposito, left the role more than 18 months ago.
W. Grant Gregory Jr. will become head of Morgan Stanley's North America bank group immediately. Gregory was already a senior banker within Morgan Stanley's FIG business. He rejoined Morgan Stanley in 2002, having previously been an analyst for the bank.
In his time out from Morgan Stanley, Gregory was a managing director at Gregory & Hoenemeyer, the Connecticut private merchant bank founded by his father.
His appointment comes 18 months after Esposito, who previously oversaw the North American banks team, was promoted to the head of Morgan Stanley's financial institutions group for the Americas. One of a trio of high-flying investment banking brothers, Esposito joined the firm in 2004 from Merrill Lynch. His brothers, Jim and Michael, work for Morgan Stanley's rival, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
