UPDATE 1-UBS' McCann taps Merrill execs to lead brokerage

By Joseph A. Giannone

NEW YORK, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The Merrill Lynch takeover of UBS AG's U.S. brokerage arm marched forward Tuesday, as UBS Wealth Management Americas chief Robert McCann added four former Merrill colleagues to his senior management team.

McCann, who joined UBS in October after years of running Merrill's massive brokerage business, tapped 25-year Merrill veteran Robert Mulholland as the head of the UBS adviser force, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters.

Mulholland replaces Jamie Price, who was moved into a temporary advisory role, 'while he considers new career opportunities,' McCann said in the memo.

McCann tapped Mulholland and several other Merrill executives in November -- his 'renewal team' -- to help revive an 8,000-strong brokerage force battered by the IRS tax evasion probe and massive credit losses incurred by UBS' investment bank.

In the past year, hundreds of brokers have left the bank, taking clients and assets with them. In the third quarter, the most recent data available, U.S. brokerage clients yanked out nearly $10 billion in assets.

The Mulholland appointment was the latest in a series of moves as McCann puts his stamp on the business.

According to the memo, Brian Hull, who recently had run Merrill's private bank and investment group, was named head of wealth management partnerships, a new position at UBS.

John Brown, 29 years at Merrill Lynch, was named head of wealth management solutions, another new position. Brown is in charge of product development and strategy, the memo said.

Meanwhile, Paula Polito, who previously headed up the marketing at Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, was named chief marketing officer of UBS wealth management Americas

McCann left Bank of America Corp last year, just weeks after the big commercial bank acquired Merrill at the beginning of last January. He sued the bank to let him join an industry rival, and replaced longtime UBS Americas brokerage chief Martin Hoekstra in October.

In other moves, David Satler, a UBS executive since 2005 and head of human resources, was named McCann's chief of staff.
(Reporting by Joseph A. Giannone, editing by Matthew Lewis) Keywords: UBS/WEALTHMANAGEMENT CHANGES ([e-mail]; + 1 646 223 6184; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.