Thiel a ‘safe pick’ to head Merrill unit

The appointment last week of John Thiel as head of U.S. wealth management for Bank of America Merrill Lynch ends one chapter — and opens another — in the ever-changing management saga at the nation's second-largest wirehouse

The appointment last week of John Thiel as head of U.S. wealth management for Bank of America Merrill Lynch ends one chapter — and opens another — in the ever-changing management saga at the nation’s second-largest wirehouse.

The process of deciding who would replace Lyle Lamothe, who announced his retirement as retail chief March 4, appears to have been contentious. It was widely reported that Sallie Krawcheck, president of Bank of America Corp.’s wealth management division, favored Andrew Sieg, head of Merrill’s retirement services division. The two worked together at Citigroup Inc., and Ms. Krawcheck recruited Mr. Sieg to Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2009.

Bank of America chief executive Brian Moynihan, on the other hand, reportedly favored Mr. Thiel, a 22-year veteran of the firm who started as a broker in Tampa, Fla.

LOOKING OUTSIDE

While the position was still open, CNBC reported that the firm began approaching outsiders, including Dan Sontag, the former head of the Merrill Lynch brokerage, about the job. Recruiters said Rick Skae, a former Merrill manager now working at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, also was a candidate.

“It’s a little like the NFL draft,” said executive recruiter Ron Edde. “Some picks are surprising and some are safe. John Thiel is a loyalist and familiar with the Merrill culture. He was a safe pick.”

In his new post, however, Mr. Thiel will face the major challenge of getting the nearly 15,700-member brokerage sales force at Merrill Lynch to embrace and market Bank of America products and services.

Many brokers may be resistant.

“Someone from the bank came to me about a bounced check from one of my clients and asked me to do something about it,” said one longtime Merrill broker, who asked not to be identified. “I don’t want to be responsible for my clients’ checking accounts.”

The broker added: “I don’t know anything about John Thiel, but I’m happy he’s not from Bank of America.”

‘ELITE FEELING’

Collectively managing more than $1.55 trillion in client assets, Merrill Lynch representatives enjoy the “elite feeling” they get from working at a major investment banking organization, rather than being associated with “everyman’s bank,” Mr. Edde said.

“I think the brokers are more concerned with what the bank is going to do, rather than the incoming chief,” he said.

“You have to treat brokerage operations with kid gloves,” said recruiter Rick Peterson. “I don’t see Wells Fargo [& Co.] or Bank of America forcing their banking products too hard on their brokers.”

Nevertheless, had Merrill appointed a bank executive to head its retail efforts instead of one of their own, “it would have been one more thing to make the brokers unhappy,” said Mindy Diamond, president of recruiting firm Diamond Consultants.

E-mail Andrew Osterland at [email protected].