Fab Gallo Bank Of America

Bank of America's long-time equities chief Fab Gallo is leaving. Here's our exclusive org chart for the stock-trading group after months of shakeups.

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Bank of America may be better known for its bond-trading group, but the firm is also home to one of Wall Street's top stock-trading shops — which has ranked fourth in the industry for several years now.

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But the firm's equities unit, which in 2019 saw revenues decline 8% to $4.5 billion, has been a division in flux at the senior levels for the first time in years.

In July, the bank announced two leadership shakeups, including the elevation of Soofian Zuberi to cohead of the group alongside Fabrizio Gallo, the division's sole leader since 2011. After much speculation, Gallo resigned from the firm last month.

Business Insider has been mapping out the power structure in the firm's global-banking and markets businesses that Chief Operating Officer Tom Montag oversees. We started last summer with fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) — the largest operation in his remit, with $8.4 billion in 2019 revenues.

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Last year we spoke with insiders, ex-employees, consultants, and other industry experts to gain insight into the reporting structure within Montag's stock-trading division. We focused on front-office execs that bear the primary responsibility for driving the group's revenue — no back-office roles appear in our chart.

Up until recently, the two sales and trading groups Montag oversees had distinct power structures. Montag, who climbed the ranks at Goldman Sachs on the back of a stellar fixed-income career, has several key direct reports that share power within FICC.

Read more: Here are the 30 most powerful people in Bank of America's $8 billion bond-trading division, which has had 2 leadership shakeups in 2020

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In equities, for years there had only ever been one top dog: Fab Gallo, one of the longest-tenured direct reports in Montag's world.

The group has been more shrouded in mystery than others at firm, eschewing appearances in public and with the media. Publicly available photos of key leaders, including Gallo, are few and far between.

Gallo, who was a longtime equities exec with Morgan Stanley, was initially hired by Montag to cohead the stock-trading unit in 2011 alongside Mike Stewart. But Stewart decamped for UBS before Gallo got there, and Gallo assumed sole control of the top seat.

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According to senior leaders who've worked with him at the firm, Gallo consolidated power and never let go, keeping a firm grip on the reins and a tight circle of trust.

But in an organizational shakeup in July, Montag elevated fixed-income trading exec Jim DeMare to global head of markets above Gallo, and he promoted Zuberi, a 25-year company veteran, as his cohead.

Gallo's exit as been speculated ever since, and fast forward three months to late October, he announced his resignation. The same week, long-time fixed-income exec Orly Avidan was tapped to assume Zuberi's old role as global head of equities sales and distribution.

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Now, after a decade under Gallo's rule, Bank of America officially has a new division leader. Who is Zuberi? Employees who have worked with the Reed College and Harvard Business School graduate have described him as well-respected and said he has the ear of Montag.

One said he can be an excellent leader, depending on your relationship to the power structure, which they described as a boy's club.

Here are the 20 most powerful people under Montag in Bank of America's equities division. Note that this chart is interactive, so you'll have to click through to see full reporting structure.

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Have more information about the organizational structure within Bank of America Merrill Lynch? Contact the reporter at amorrell@ or via encrypted chat with Signal or Telegram.Twitter icon A stylized bird with an open mouth, tweeting. Twitter LinkedIn icon The word in. LinkedIn Fliboard icon A stylized letter F. Flipboard Facebook Icon The letter F. Facebook Email icon An envelope. It indicates the ability to send an email. Email Link icon An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Copy Link

Tom Montag, COO at BofA, informed staff that Fab Gallo is resigning, effective at the end of the year. Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Tory Burch Foundation

Gallo, the longest-tenured equities head among Wall Street banks, informed Chief Operating Officer Tom Montag of his decision to leave, effective at the end of the year, according to a memo from Montag viewed by Business Insider.

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During his tenure at the firm, he has played a strategic, important role in building our equities franchise, Montag wrote in the memo. Amongst his many legacies he helped develop an electronic infrastructure that is critical to our success and a Prime Brokerage business that has become an industry leader.

It's been an honor to lead the division for the last nine years. We have built a world-class team to serve our clients and we are proud of our collective accomplishments, Gallo said in the memo.

Soofian Zuberi, who was elevated to cohead of equities alongside Gallo this summer, will take the reins as sole head of the group.

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Gallo was one of the longest-serving division senior leaders under Montag, who has overseen the firm's Global Banking and Markets operations since joining the company in 2008. Top execs in investment banking and fixed-income trading have shuffled through and shared power over the years, but since arriving, Gallo had held sole control of the equities group.

Gallo, a longtime Morgan Stanley equities exec, was initially hired by Montag to cohead the stock-trading unit in 2011 alongside Mike Stewart. But Stewart decamped for UBS before Gallo got there, and Gallo assumed control of the top seat, reporting directly to Montag and keeping a firm grip on the wheel.

In July, Zuberi, a 25-year company veteran and for many years the second in command to Gallo, was elevated. Gallo would have to share power for the first time during his tenure, and with someone who was for years his subordinate, no less.

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That same day BofA elevated eight execs into the firm's management committee, bringing membership of the group to 22. Three were promoted from the upper ranks of the fixed-income trading unit, none were chosen from equities.

Among the new committee members was Jim DeMare, a fixed-income-trading exec who was named to a new role running all of markets — giving Gallo a new boss in between Montag and himself.

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