It seems both Ian and David held senior roles in investment...

It seems both Ian and David held senior roles in investment banking at Merrill Lynch at the same time. They must have been known to each other. This appears to be more like a planned/orderly transition in my view.


Stratford Advisory - David Petrie
"After Merrill Lynch acquired Centaurus Corporate Finance in 1997, David transferred to Singapore and became Head of Merrill Lynch's South East Asia Corporate Finance Group and a member of the Financial Institutions Group. In 2002, he transferred back to Australia and became Head of Merrill Lynch's Melbourne office. In 2008, David was appointed Head of the Multi Industries Group (Healthcare, Gaming, Consumer and Retail, Food and Technology). He was also Head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group from 2009 to 2010."

East & Partners | Merrill welcomes back Scholes (eastandpartners.com)
"(8 June 2004 – Australia) Former National Australia Bank corporate and institutional banking head, Ian Scholes, has rejoined Merrill Lynch as vice chairman of its Australian investment business. Scholes was one of a group of eight senior NAB staff who were sacked following the PricewaterhouseCoopers inquiry into the bank’s rogue trading scandal. He previously worked at Merrill for some 12 years before joining NAB in 2002."