Morgan Stanley shifts senior management ranks

Morgan Stanley is reducing the number of its regional executives from eight to six, which follows up an earlier restructuring of the wirehouse's management.

Morgan announced the changes to its more than 15,000 advisers in an internal memo obtained by On Wall Street.

"While the number of regions is decreasing, we are maintaining overall regional staffing levels to ensure that we continue to provide a high level of support to managers and financial advisers throughout the branch system," divisional directors Bill McMahon and Rick Skae, along with Vince Lumia, head of Private Wealth Management, wrote in the memo sent on Tuesday.

Eric Thayer/Bloomberg

The firm's wealth management unit will be divided in two divisions, comprising three regions each. The heads of the regions are:

· Northeast: Ralph Balzano

· Mid Atlantic: Lisa Cregan

· Great Lakes: Steve Austin

· Pacific Coast: Curt Peterson

· Central: Ron Thacker

· Southeast: Michael Struckman

Current Southeast Region Director Tim Byrnes is taking on an unspecified assignment in the firm's wealth management unit while New England Region Director Rick Ryan has left the wirehouse, according to the memo.

Details on how the complexes will align with the new regional structure will be forthcoming, per the memo. A Morgan spokeswoman declined further comment.

Earlier this year, Morgan Stanley reshuffled its top executive ranks in wealth management following the departure of President Greg Fleming. At the time those changes did not affect the regional and complex levels of the company.