Odds & Ends - March 6, 2009
*Janet Christensen has joined NewOak Capital as managing director of marketing to institutional clients. She was co-founder of Tegris, a firm specializing in M&A and asset management, before joining the firm. Previously she served as chief of staff to Stephen Scharzman, CEO of the Blackstone Group.
*The $36.6 billion Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA) has named David Bomberger as its new deputy CIO, where he will provide additional oversight for PERA's investment operations. Prior to his new appointment, Bomberger was Nebraska state investment officer and CIO with the $7.8 billion Nebraska Investment Council (NIC). The NIC's investment officer, Joseph Jurich, will serve as acting state investment officer while a replacement for Bomberger is sought.
*State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has named Jamie Kase as executive VP, head of global sales and marketing, where he will oversee all aspects of sales and marketing for North America. Prior to joining SSgA, he was executive VP for U.S. institutional distribution for ING Investment Management.
*Fridson Investment Advisors has appointed John Creswell as director of business development and consultant relations, a new position, in which Creswell will focus on Midwest and Western states. Before joining Fridson, Creswell was a managing director at Nuveen Investments, where he co-founded the firm's taxable fixed-income unit.
*Larch Lane Advisors has named Frank Travers director of fund-of-funds and Todd Williams as an analyst in the fund-of-funds group. Prior to their new positions, Travers was CEO and director of research at First Peninsula Capital and Williams was Larch Lane's chief legal officer and chief compliance officer.
*Prudential Financial has named Clifford Axelson the fifth member of its strategic solutions group, which consults with the firm's largest institutional clients. He was a senior VP with Callan Associates before joining Prudential.
*Mercer has hired Manny Weiss as a portfolio manager for domestic equity strategies in the firm's investment management division. He will conduct research and recommend managers and strategy allocation changes. Mercer has also named Wilson Berglund as a senior analyst of fixed-income, where he will work with asset allocation for the firm's fixed-income offerings, evaluate sub-advisors, and work directly with clients on customized liability-driven investment (LDI) solutions. Prior to joining Mercer, Weiss was an institutional portfolio manager with 2100 Capital and Berglund was a senior VP and portfolio construction specialist with Putnam Investments' core fixed-income team.
*Matt Hoffman has left hedge fund manager Weston Capital Asset Management where he was CIO, for unspecified reasons. His CIO duties have been reassigned to members of the investment team. Hoffman will not be immediately replaced.
*Peter Zuleba and Laura LaRosa have been named head of Glenmede's equity group and fixed-income group, respectively. Both are newly created roles at the firm. Zuleba will be responsible for the firm's quantitative and fundamental research units, model equity portfolios, and equity investment strategies, while LaRosa will oversee the firm's tax-exempt and taxable fixed-income strategies. The duo will both report to Gordon Fowler, Glenmede's CIO.
*Nationwide Funds has named Lynnett Berger to the new position of CIO, where she will oversee due diligence, manager selection, risk management, and transition management for sub-advisors and external asset managers. Prior to joining Nationwide, Berger was VP and risk manager with M&T Bank's operational risk management group.
*International real estate manager Cordea Savills has named Michael Flynn as executive director and global head of institutional business, where he will help raise capital and oversee client services. Flynn will also retain his previous duties as head of the firm's Singapore office.
Odds & Ends is a compilation of reported news from a variety of sources. The information in this section is assumed to be reliable, but all information should be confirmed, as IMW does not guarantee its accuracy.
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