End of the Berchtold era

There were some long faces and moist eyes at Morgan StanleyÆs Exchange Square headquarters yesterday morning, as Michael Berchtold announced to staff his departure from Asia. Indeed, this was no ordinary departure announcement, since Berchtold has been in the region since 1990 and had fostered the careers of a whole generation of Morgan Stanley bankers in Asia. Berchtold û who is only 42 û took over the investment banking division at age 35 and oversaw an era in which the firm played …