The board of directors of Bank of America, the world’s largest wealth manager via its purchase of Merrill Lynch, have named Charles Holliday as its chairman, succeeding Dr Walter Massey.

A senior figure in the business world, Holliday was formerly chairman of the board of directors of EI du Pont de Nemours and Co, a position which he held for around ten year; he was also chief executive of the chemical giant from 1998 to 2008. He has also served as a director of Bank of America since 2009.

The change marks the end of a twelve month period in which the company has seen a number of top-level changes. Dr Massey himself took over the role of chairman after Ken Lewis, also chief executive at the time, was forced out by shareholders last April. Lewis went on to retire later in the year, to be replaced as CEO by BofA employee Brian Moynihan. Meanwhile, the bank named Charles Noski as chief financial officer earlier this month.

Speaking on the departure of Dr Massey, Moynihan said: "On behalf of the management team and all our associates, I thank Walter for his service on the board and for his steady hand as our chairman during a uniquely challenging period."