Morgan Stanley C.E.O. James Gorman has set up a ‘Succession’-like race to succeed him.
William D. Cohan May 24, 2023

Gorman’s Goodbye: Inside a C.E.O. Succession Bake-Off

I talk to a lot of well-wired people inside Morgan Stanley all the time: here’s what’s going to happen next. Plus notes on succession planning inside my old stomping grounds: Lazard and JPMC.



“Bankman-Fried,” his lawyers stated, “has not defrauded anyone, nor intended to defraud anyone.”
Eriq Gardner May 15, 2023
Lawyers for Bankman-Fried are hoping to turn a seemingly slam-dunk prosecution into an inscrutable legalistic debate over the definition of “fraud,” itself. It might just work.
William D. Cohan May 14, 2023
There’s no erasing his historic earlier tenure at Disney, but the company is looking increasingly vulnerable, especially since Iger’s last big deal will likely be the $9 billion he’d spend to buy Hulu.
Under the leadership of Ken Jacobs, who has been extremely well paid, Lazard has grown bigger and more robust. But its stock has underperformed badly.
William D. Cohan May 10, 2023
How Wall Street’s most mysterious, enigmatic, and flamboyant firm—“l’haute banque d’affaires vis-à-vis the world”—was brought down by fate and tragedy, and what it can do to become exceptional again.