Raymond James CEO names Paul Reilly as his successor

Tom James will step down as chief executive officer of Raymond James Financial in spring 2010 and hand off day-to-day leadership to St. Petersburg native Paul Reilly.

Raymond James has announced Reilly will join the company as president May 1. A year later, he will succeed James as chief executive of the St. Petersburg-based brokerage and investment banking firm. James will stay on full time with the company as executive chairman of the board after handing off his CEO role, the company announced.

Reilly has worked with Raymond James before. He has served on its board since 2005 and as its audit committee chairman for the past year. His most recent full-time position has been as executive chairman of the Korn/Ferry International recruiting firm, and previously he served as chief executive with accounting and consulting firm KPMG International.

“During his three-year tenure as a board member of Raymond James Financial, he has exhibited high intellect, financial acumen, good decision-making skills, objectivity, and a commitment to the values and tenets upon which Raymond James was founded,” James said in a statement.

“I have confidence his work ethic, management skills and integrity will enable him to guide Raymond James to continued success in the future.”

Reilly grew up in St. Petersburg and received a bachelor’s degree and MBA in finance from the University of Notre Dame. He also is a certified public accountant.

Raymond James has more than 5,000 financial advisers who serve about 1.8 million accounts around the world. Total client assets are $173 billion.

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