[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

Morgan Stanley has taken a page from Washington with the hire of a insider.  While a partner at public relations firm Brunswick Group, Michele Davis made her name in the government’s response to the financial crisis, advising then Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. among others on communication strategy.  At Morgan Stanley, she will head run the corporate communications department.

Ms. Davis will fill a hole at the New York-based firm, which has not had a permanent global head of corporate affairs for several months since Jeanmarie McFadden left in February.  While her future duties at Morgan Stanley haven't been detailed, her experience includes (i) overseeing media relations, marketing and community affairs, and (ii) serving as a member of the firm’s management committee.  In addition, she also counseled BP after the 2010 oil spill that wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast.

Going forward, she will report to vice chairman Thomas Nides and sit on the management committee, splitting her time New York City and the Capitol.

“Michele has worked at the nexus of political and financial media throughout her career, serving in a number of senior communications positions in the U.S. Treasury Department, Fannie Mae and the White House from 2001 to January 2009." -- James Gorman, Morgan Stanley CEO, and Mr. Nides in a memo on Monday morning.

Her impression in Washington is not lost, though.  In 2011, Cynthia Nixon played her in the HBO movie "Too Big to Fail," which chronicled the events that led up the financial crisis.

For further details, go to [Dealbook, 4/29/13].