Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch named John Thiel as the new head of U.S. Wealth Management, one of the top positions in the bank's Global Wealth & Investment Management group, according to an internal memo.
Thiel, currently head of the private banking and investment group, will replace Lyle LaMothe, who is leaving the bank on May 1 after 24 years. Thiel will retain both roles.
Thiel, who is 50, is one of the top lieutenants to Sallie Krawcheck, the head of Global Wealth & Investment Management. That unit, largely created by the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, which closed in 2009, was among the best performing divisions at the bank during the first quarter and the only business to grow revenue from the prior year.
The memo from Krawcheck said Thiel "is one of our most accomplished senior managers and I know he will build on his successes to impact our wealth management business more broadly."
Thiel started at Merrill Lynch in 1989 as a financial adviser in Tampa. Most recently he led the ultra-high net worth group.
Merrill Lynch advisers reached Wednesday said they're happy to see a Merrill veteran with advising experience getting tapped for the post.
"He's sat in my chair, he's had to bear the consequences of the decisions he's made with clients," said a Virginia-based adviser with Merrill who spoke on the condition of anonymity. This adviser said he hopes Thiel's experience in the trenches will motivate him to give local managers more involvement in the hiring of advisers.
A Merrill adviser in California said the key for most advisers will be that Thiel came up through the ranks at Merrill.
As soon as they see that it's a Merrill vet, "it's breath of fresh air, and a reiteration that Bank of America isn't taking the reins of Merrill Lynch and trying to turn us into something we're not," said the California adviser, who asked that his name not be used.
Krawcheck was brought over from Citigroup Inc. to work on getting the brokerage units at Bank of America and Merrill into a coherent organization. She is also tasked with getting the unit to work more in step with the bank's larger organization, a job that entails convincing independent-minded brokers to sell other banking products.
LaMothe, who turns 50 next month, announced last month he was stepping down to pursue personal interests.
Since LaMothe's announcement, speculation has swirled about who would be tapped to replace him. Along with Thiel, one person seen as a frontrunner was Andrew Sieg, head of Bank of America Merrill Lynch's retirement and philanthropic services.
Sieg couldn't be immediately reached for comment.
In her memo Wednesday, Krawcheck said the search was both internal and external.
"I promised from the beginning of this process that we would be thoughtful in our selection of the next leader of Merrill Lynch — and I owe it to all of you and to our clients to make certain that we have the strongest people possible in our key leadership roles," Krawcheck wrote.
