San Francisco-based outfit called Lombard Brokerage in 1996. Merger with Morgan Stanley (1997–2009) In 1997, Morgan Stanley Group, Inc. and Dean Witter Discover merged to form one of the largest global financial services firms: Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Discover Co.. The combined firm later dropped the "Discover Co." name in 1998 and further the "Dean Witter" name in 2001. Although Morgan Stanley was the more prominent partner, Dean Witter's focus on retail investors, mutual funds and credit cards which were seen by the stock market as generating more stable cash flows than Morgan Stanley's investment banking business had by the time of the merger made it the more valuable partner in terms of market capitalization. Dean Witter's CEO, Philip Purcell, the main architect of the merger, became chairman and chief executive officer of the merged group. The merger marked the pairing of a storied investment banking firm with a retail brokerage (that had been owned by a retailer) that was often termed "white shoes and white socks". In order to avoid tension during the integration of the two firms, Purcell and Morgan Stanley's CEO John Mack decided not to choose between the two brand names. Instead, they combined the names of the two firms and put the Morgan Stanley Dean Witter brand on almost all of its operations. Eventually, to foster brand recognition and marketing, the Dean Witter name was dropped from the retail services division in 2001, leaving the current name Morgan Stanley. In 2009, the Dean Witter retail operations were transferred to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, a joint venture with Citigroup. Acquisition history The following is an illustration of the company's major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors: Notable alumni Garo H. Armen Lauren Bessette, sister-in-law of John F. Kennedy Jr. Jean Chatzky, research analyst George Davidsohn Chris Gardner, whose autobiography was turned into the 2006 feature film The Pursuit of Happyness, interned at Dean Witter Reynolds Thomas J. Healey Catherine Meyer John Moore, Baron Moore of Lower Marsh, stockbroker Gretchen Morgenson Rick Rescorla Ronald P. Spogli, investment banker Thomas J. Wilson Jeff Bander See also Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Discover Card References A Brief Chronology of Sears Focus On The Forbes 500s: Morgan Stanley DW November 21, 2000 Kador, John (2005). Charles Schwab: How One Company Beat Wall Street and Reinvented the Brokerage Industry. Stone, Amey and Mike Brewster (2002). The King of Capital: