A new look, a new name, but the same old swagger. That about sums up life at Morgan Stanley, which last month dropped the "Dean Witter" that has trailed from its name since the 1997 merger and officially unveiled a redesigned logo. Incorporating a tilted Greek delta, the new logo signifies "change," says CEO Phil Purcell, who knows a thing or two about the subject. Morgan Stanley veteran John Mack, who had served as president since the merger, quit in March after losing a power struggle with the press-shy, boardroom-savvy Purcell. "Integrating the merger has been the major focus here for the past three and a half years," says the 57-year-old chairman. "That's done, and we want to take the firm to the next level."

The onetime McKinsey consultant now wants to redirect the firm's focus from specific products to overall client service. "All financial services firms have grown up with a product focus, but the client doesn't think that way," he says. To better serve customers, Morgan Stanley will change its financial reporting, management information systems, training programs and employee reviews. "It's a huge undertaking," notes Purcell. "To get 62,000 people focused on the same thing, you need to do some things that are symbolic. So we start with a name change and a logo change."

Some things won't change. Morgan Stanley faces increasingly fierce competition from banks such as J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney, which have been emboldened by deregulation to buy business with their balance sheets. Purcell's new-look operation will fight back the old-fashioned way. "We will compete with ideas and talent, which is the way we've always competed," he says. "You can always add more capital, but it's a lot harder to add the kind of talent that comes up with better solutions to clients' problems than your competitors can offer. I'd rather be where we're sitting than where [the commercial banks] are sitting."

One small problem: With the market downturn, Purcell first has to cut heads. Some 1,500 are slated to roll, primarily from the firm's securities and investment management businesses.