Morgan Stanley hires Washington veteran for corporate affairs

Morgan Stanley has hired Michele Davis, a public relations official and policy director who helped shape the Treasury Department's strategy during the financial crisis, to become global head of corporate affairs, according to a bank memo sent on Monday.

Michele Davis will report to Vice Chairman Tom Nides, according to the memo from Nides and CEO James Gorman. She has worked "at the nexus of political and financial media throughout her career," said the memo, which was sent to employees and obtained by Reuters.

Davis is taking a position that was held by Jeanmarie McFadden who retired in February.

Davis worked under former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson during the financial crisis in 2008. She had previously held posts at Fannie Mae and at the White House, where she was a deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for communications.

Most recently Davis was a partner based in Washington at the Brunswick Group, a corporate communications advisory firm, according to the memo.

(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra and David Henry in New York; Editing by Chris Reese)