HEARD ON THE BEAT / Buzz from the Business World

J.P. Morgan Names L.A. Chief: Wall Street investment banking powerhouse J.P. Morgan appears to be raising the status of its L.A. office by naming Robert Woolway to head the 80-person operation.

Woolway, a former managing director in Merrill Lynch’s L.A. office, will become the first chief of Morgan’s downtown office. The branch had previously been directed from San Francisco, a spokeswoman said.

Woolway, a Harvard graduate (1981) and Stanford MBA (1985), launched his investment banking career in L.A. with Dean Witter Reynolds in 1981. He worked in Salomon Bros.’ L.A. corporate finance unit for nine years before joining Merrill in 1995.