Mike Bitterly – latterly of BlackRock - has been named head of affluent segment and strategy at Merrill Lynch, replacing Ted Durkin who was named complex director for the Delaware complex.

Mike Bitterly has been named head of affluent segment and strategy at Merrill Lynch in New York, replacing Ted Durkin who was appointed as director for the Delaware Main Line complex.

Merrill's affluent unit serves those with between $250,000 and $10 million. Bitterly will be focused on strategy and on implementing the firm's client experience standard across its advisor population. 

Bitterly returns to Merrill after announcing his retirement in October 2013 as managing director and global head of BlackRock’s wealth management business. In his new role he reports to Riley Etheridge, head of client segments and advisor development.

Bitterly has 28 years of experience working at Merrill Lynch and BlackRock; he has held numerous leadership roles at Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and, more recently, BlackRock. 

He began his career in 1987 as a Merrill Lynch financial advisor and later entered the firm’s management development program in 1996, going on to join MLIM as head of global sales in 2002. After MLIM merged into BlackRock in 2006, Bitterly was named global head of the wealth management business.