Morgan Stanley's Gorman awarded 17% pay bump to $37 million in last year as CEO - filing

Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley James Gorman speaks during the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee oversight hearing on Wall Street firms, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

By Tatiana Bautzer

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Morgan Stanley executive chairman and former CEO James Gorman’s compensation rose 17% to $37 million for 2023, the bank said in a filing on Friday.

Gorman was paid $31.5 million in 2022. He became executive chairman on Jan. 1 when Ted Pick took over as the bank’s new CEO.

Three quarters of of Gorman’s performance bonus is paid in equity and deferred over three years.

The bank’s board noted his “outstanding performance, including his exemplary execution of CEO succession and the transition of leadership” and his resolution of legal and regulatory matters in its decision to boost Gorman’s pay.

Gorman spent 14 years at the helm and is credited with transforming the bank into a wealth management powerhouse. He also orchestrated a succession plan in which Ted Pick took the reins at the same time as retaining the two other CEO candidates, executives Andy Saperstein and Dan Simkowitz, a rarity on Wall Street.

The compensation committee also cited the total shareholder return of 14% in 2023 and company’s valuation since Gorman became CEO. During his tenure, Morgan Stanley stock has more than tripled and its market capitalization increased from $40 billion to $153 billion.

“Over his 14-year tenure as CEO and during 2023, Mr. Gorman reshaped the firm into a stronger and more balanced institution positioned for long-term growth,” the board said in the filing. “As a result, the firm’s business model performed as intended in a challenging market and macro environment in 2023.”

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in New York, editing by Lananh Nguyen)