Philip J. Purcell (born 1943) is an American businessman. Purcell is a former chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley, where he worked in the late 1990s and 2000s. He was previously chairman and CEO of Dean Witter, Discover and managed the firm under its ownership by Sears, Roebuck & Co. He subsequently became head of Continental Investors, a private equity firm that invests in Internet-enabled financial services and consumer companies. Early life and education Phil Purcell was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he graduated from Judge Memorial, a Catholic parochial high school. During the school year, he worked selling magazine subscriptions and pressing clothes at a drycleaner; during summers he worked road construction and at the national parks in southern Utah. He was a center on the basketball team and starting tackle on the state championship football team. Purcell won a scholarship to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, then transferred to Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana after his freshman year. He won fellowships to the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, then to the London School of Economics, paying his own way through graduate school with the fellowships and his own earnings and savings. In October 2006, Purcell contributed $12.5 million for the renovation of Notre Dame basketball arena, which was renamed "Purcell Pavilion" in his honor. Career Purcell has been a significant figure in the financial services industry for over 30 years. He was the main architect of Dean Witter's acquisition of Morgan Stanley in 1997, and was Chairman and CEO of the merged firm (known as Morgan Stanley) from 1997-2005. During that period, the market cap of Morgan Stanley increased from $23 billion to $64 billion. He was previously chairman and CEO of Dean Witter, Discover & Co, from 1986 to 1997. After leaving Morgan Stanley, Purcell formed Continental Investors LLC, a private equity firm. Purcell has also been on the executive board and as vice-chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. He was one of the founding members of the Financial Services Forum and was chairman during its first three years. McKinsey, Sears, and Dean Witter Purcell began his business career in 1967 at McKinsey & Co., an international management consulting firm, traveling and working with clients throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. When he left McKinsey to join Sears in 1978, he was Managing Director