In 1982 he joined law firm Phillips Fox and Masel before heading to the United States to obtain a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School. After graduating Columbia, he joined McKinsey & Company and eventually became a senior partner. At McKinsey he worked on the Merrill Lynch account for ten years, and helped develop Merrill's online internet strategy. In 1999, he joined Merrill Lynch in the newly created role of chief marketing officer. He also joined the 19-member executive management committee. Within two years, he was in charge of Merrill's brokerage business. Gorman left Merrill in February 2006 to join Morgan Stanley as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Global Wealth Management Group. In October 2007, Gorman took on the additional role of Co-Head of Strategic Planning with Chief Financial Officer Colm Kelleher. In December 2007, he was named Co-President of Morgan Stanley, along with Walid Chammah, with the day-to-day responsibility for Wealth Management and Asset Management. In 2009, he helped create the largest wealth management platform globally when he led the merger and integration of Morgan Stanley's wealth management business with Citi's Smith Barney business. Structured as a staggered acquisition, Morgan Stanley purchased the remainder of the joint venture in June 2013, and is a global leader in wealth management with over 16,000 financial advisors and $1.8 trillion in client assets. In September 2009, it was announced he would become CEO of Morgan Stanley in January 2010. He also assumed the title of Chairman in January 2012 following the retirement of John J. Mack. Press reports indicate his compensation as Chairman and CEO was $9.75 million for 2012, with the New York Times reporting an increase to $18 million in 2013. In 2014 he was included in the 50 Most Influential ranking of Bloomberg Markets Magazine. In the wake of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, which led to a popular vote to leave the European Union, Gorman said there was "nothing good about Brexit". He added that some jobs would be moved not only out of England, but out of Europe entirely, possibly to New York City or Tokyo. As of November 2017, he has not however initiated any change in his UK company structuring. In January 2020, he was awarded an Order of Australia that recognizes Australians who have demonstrated outstanding service or exceptional achievement. Gorman said he was "honoured to receive this award and extremely proud to represent Australia abroad." "While most of my working life has been in the US my heart remains firmly Australian," Mr Gorman said.
