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Merrill shifts management
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February 14, 2000: 4:05 p.m. ET
O'Neal to head U.S. retail arm, boosting chance to succeed CEO
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. named chief financial officer E. Stanley O'Neal head of the brokerage's retail arm Monday, a move some say positions the executive as a future candidate for the firm's top job.
O'Neal will become president of Merrill Lynch's (MER: Research, Estimates) U.S. Private Client Group, a unit that serves wealthy individuals, small businesses and employee benefits plans. He succeeds John Steffens, who was named chairman of the retail division and remains a vice chairman at the brokerage.
O'Neal, 48, became chief financial officer in 1998. A year earlier, he was elected executive vice president and co-head of the corporate and institutional Client group. He is one of the highest-ranking black executives on Wall Street.
"Stan O'Neal brings exceptional leadership skills, strategic ability and proven business acumen to U.S. Private Client," CEO David Komansky said in a statement.
The Private Client Group is the firm's best-known division, with 14,200 brokers and financial consultants, 700 branch offices and $1.3 trillion in client assets. The group led Merrill Lynch's entry into online trading last year.
Wall Street analysts said the appointment improves O'Neal's chances of eventually succeeding Komansky.
"He is clearly in the running," Steve Galbraith, of Sanford Bernstein, told Reuters. "He's been involved in all of the important businesses."
Komansky, 60, has not had a clear potential successor since Herbert Allison retired as president and chief operating officer in July 1999.
O'Neal joined Merrill Lynch in 1986, as part of the firm's investment banking unit. Previously, he worked for eight years at General Motors Corp. (GM: Research, Estimates) in New York and Madrid in various treasury-related positions. He received a bachelor's degree from the General Motors Institute and an MBA in Finance from Harvard University.
Merrill appointed executive vice president Thomas Patrick to succeed O'Neal as chief financial officer. 
-- staff and wire reports
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