Michael W. McCarthy; Former Merrill Lynch President

Michael W. McCarthy, 94, pioneering president and chairman of Merrill Lynch who directed its incorporation and international expansion. Born in Belle Plaine, Minn., McCarthy began his career as a grocery store bookkeeper in California. He rose to chief accountant for Safeway, a grocery chain whose biggest investor was Charles E. Merrill. When Merrill formed the Merrill Lynch brokerage firm in 1940, he asked McCarthy to join him. McCarthy became managing partner in 1957, president in 1959 and chairman in 1961. He expanded the company aggressively, establishing offices in 21 new cities between 1959 and 1964, and opening offices in Europe and Asia. McCarthy served as a governor of both the American and New York stock exchanges and of the Assn. of Stock Exchange Firms. After his retirement in 1968, he moved to Indian Wells, Calif., where he was a founding trustee of the Eisenhower Medical Center, a director of the Desert Museum and a founder and vice president of the Cultural Center and Theater. The scholarship given to children of Merrill Lynch employees is named in McCarthy’s honor. On Wednesday in Indian Wells.