Bob McCann, the chief of Merrill Lynch's brokerage unit, is leaving the firm just five days after the acquisition by Bank of America was completed. McCann has spent 26 years at the firm, including five as head of the global wealth management business.

"After much reflection and deliberation, I have decided that this is the right time for me to move on," McCann is quoted as saying in an internal memo sent to brokers by Merrill CEO John Thain.

McCann held a meeting with the top 20 advisors in New York City just before the retention package was announced in October last year. There he told the assembled group that he hadn't been in favor of the acquisition until that morning but was now on board, says a source familiar with the meeting. However, others believe that he remained concerned about the extent of his role at the merged firm. "I think his ego was bruised with his reduced responsibility," says one Merrill advisor. "We kind of expected (his departure)."

A source familiar with Merrill Lynch says that the move was likely a result of McCann getting cut out of critical discussions and decisions. Also, McCann was not being considered to head Bank of America's new retail brokerage sales force, a position that is still open, according to Peter Stanton, managing partner of the Palm Beach, Fla.-based Stanton Executive Group. "He did not take kindly to that, and someone of his stature was not going to wait around to find out what Bank of America had in store for him," Stanton says.

Danny Sarch, another industry recruiter, doesn't think McCann's departure alone will spur advisors to leave the firm, but says Merrill advisors need to accept that big changes are coming under the combined firm. "It's naïve to think (Bank of America) is going to leave Merrill alone...everything is on the table," says Sarch.

There has been some speculation that McCann will be replaced by Dan Sontag, who currently oversees the global wealth management and private banking businesses in the U.S. and Latin America.

In December 2007, soon after John Thain's appointment as Merrill chief executive following the resignation of Stan O'Neill, McCann told On Wall Street that he believed Thain was the right man to get Merrill through the "challenging period." However, since then there have been rumors that the pair had clashed.

Previous coverage from On Wall Street:

No Bonus for Merrill Lynch Chief Exec

Thain: Merrill Brokers Happy with Deal

McCann's Message

Gorman, Thain in Spotlight

The New Guard