Morgan Stanley has appointed Ammar Al-Khudairy as chairman of Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia, succeeding Richard A Debs, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by a bank spokesman.

Al-Khudairy was a founding director of Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia and had been vice chairman of its board since 2012, according to the memo. Debs, who had been chairman of Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia since 2012, will continue to be an advisory director of Morgan Stanley, the memo added.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Aractingi, chief executive of Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia, had decided to leave the firm to pursue other opportunities, according to a separate internal memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by a bank spokesman.

Tiernan O'Rourke, currently head of Middle East and North Africa (Mena) equity sales and trading, will become acting chief executive of Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia, subject to regulatory approval, the memo said. - Reuters