New York-One Penn Plaza Branch Office

Bernie Duque is currently the Non-Producing Branch Manager at the Penn Plaza office in New York City for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, overseeing nearly 100 Financial Advisors and playing a critical role in helping them uncover potential growth areas in their business, increase their proficiency in practice management and helping them connect to the various resources of the MS platform.

Bernie joined the firm in 2004 as a Financial Advisor in Las Vegas, Nevada, building a business in a market in which he had no ties. Bernie relied on a number of prospecting methods, including cold calling, cold walking, networking and seminars enroute to being recognized as a top performer in his peer group by being named to the firm’s Blue Chip Council. He focused his practice on the needs of small business owners and independent contractors in the real estate professions. In 2007, Bernie took his first role in management as National Development Officer for the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Training Center. While there, Bernie played a role in the training of over 2,000 financial advisor trainees and was a part of the integration team that helped bring together Legacy Smith Barney’s and Legacy Morgan Stanley’s training programs. In June of 2010, Bernie was named the Assistant Complex Manager at the 399 Park Avenue Complex in New York, where he focused on the training, hiring and sourcing of Financial Advisor trainees, before joining the Penn Plaza/399 Park Avenue Complex as a Business Development Manager where he provided strategic direction for the revenue initiatives of MS’ largest Complex. As a result of his efforts, he was named to the Business Development Manager Council in late 2013. In May of 2014, Bernie was named Branch Manager in Providence, later picking up Newport in the Fall of 2016 and Mystic in the Spring of 2017.

Before entering Financial Services, Bernie lived in Chicago, Illinois, where he served as the Director of Operations at Windy City Fieldhouse, a 55,000 square-foot athletic facility. Bernie’s responsibilities at “The Fieldhouse” included budget oversight, contract negotiations, human resources and vendor management. In addition, he served as a sales associate for the corporate event planning segment of the business, which organized team building and organizational meetings for companies such as IBM, Bank One, Accenture and Allstate.

Prior to Windy City Fieldhouse, Bernie served as an NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for seven years with posts at Loyola University Chicago, Stony Brook University and Manhattan College. His passion for basketball has never left and Bernie works as a high school basketball referee and has had the distinction of officiating several rounds of the Rhode Island, New Jersey and Nevada State Basketball Tournaments.

On the community service side, Bernie served on the Board of Directors of Statement Arts, an educational outreach program that provides a safe platform for participants to come together and create. Statement Arts nurtures, builds self-confidence, and provides students with creative experiences that will empower them throughout their lives and encourage them to be ambassadors for their own communities. He is also active with the East Greenwich Basketball Association and the East Greenwich Little League.

A 1996 Cum Laude graduate of Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York, Bernie currently resides in Warren, NJ with his wife, Anne, and their three children: Elyse, Brianne and William.

Jeremy Autry is the Associate Market Manager for the 5th Avenue Market. He brings 25 years of financial services experience, both working in partnership with Financial Advisors and Planners, as well as serving the financial needs of individuals and families.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Jeremy held roles in sales, leadership, financial planning, and wholesale distribution. His professional passion is helping financial professionals leverage the full breadth of Morgan Stanley, so that they can tailor solutions to complex client needs. He believes financial planning is the foundation of some of the strongest relationships and the context for smart investment decisions.

Jeremy received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut. He also is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™.

He is originally from Southern California, where he grew up with a passion for the outdoors. He enjoys snowboarding, cycling, fishing, and when the time allows, mountaineering. He currently resides in Fairfield, CT with his wife and two sons. As a family, they have a passion for travel and good meals.

Leia Mehler is a Business Service Officer in the One Penn Plaza Office. She works closely with the Elizabeth Keller, James Gravalis and the Complex Business Service Officer Mike Kuhner to oversee the daily operational functions of the branch including communicating all policy and procedure updates to all employees. She assists the Risk Officers in ensuring compliance standards are met with regards to training and managing of all non-sales staff. Leia is also responsible for the coaching and development of all support staff. She assists with the on-boarding of new recruits and the transition of their client base to the firm.

Leia joined Morgan Stanley in 2006 as a Client Service Associate in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania office. She was soon promoted to an Operations Associate in 2007. In 2008, Leia left Morgan Stanley to join Smith Barney as a Senior Operations Associate. In 2010, she returned to New York, accepting a position at the Two Penn Plaza office as the Complex Service Manager. She has been with the firm over 16 years.

Leia grew up in Lindenhurst, NY. In high school, she was a regional and nationally ranked junior tennis player. She received a full scholarship to play Division I tennis at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Leia resides in Massapequa, Long Island with her husband Matt and daughter Zoe. She spends her off time boating, or watching her daughter play soccer and lacrosse.

Utilizing his 16 years in the securities industry, Vince Wieck is responsible for a wide variety of compliance and risk functions in the market, helping Financial Advisors adhere to best business and ethics practices, as well as complying with applicable federal, state and local laws, Morgan Stanley policies and all other applicable regulations.

Vince joined the One Penn Plaza management team in 2020, having moved to New York from California, where he served as a risk officer in Morgan Stanley’s Silicon Valley market. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Vince worked in similar risk and supervision roles with Wells Fargo Advisors and PNC Investments.

Vince was born and raised in St. Louis, MO, with a degree in Psychology from St. Louis University. He now resides in the Riverdale area of the Bronx with his wife, Jill, and their five young kids.

Brenda joined Morgan Stanley in August of 2022. In her day-to-day role as a Branch Administrator, she works closely with the Market Executive, Bernardo Duque, to improve any inefficiencies the market may have. In her time with Morgan Stanley, Brenda has helped implement new branch procedure, update communication systems, and onboard new hires.

As Branch Administrator, Brenda creates an open line of communication between the local management team and the vast network of advisors and sales support in the branch. She not only helps ensure that all teams are operating efficiently and effectively, but also promotes the initiatives set forth by the branch and complex leadership.

Prior to Morgan Stanley, Brenda worked at a Not-For-Profit organization for 14 years, where she held various roles and gained valuable experience and management skills while working with top level executives and the organization’s Board of Directors.

Currently Brenda resides in Tarrytown with her two teenage children. She enjoys traveling, volunteering, and learning new languages. Brenda is highly involved in her community as a parent and advocate for community diversity and inclusion. Since joining the firm, Brenda became a member of MENG Programming Committee for Morgan Stanley which is involved in promoting diversification and inclusion throughout the firm.