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(Bloomberg) -- BlackRock Inc. is elevating several senior executives to expand its business in the Americas and with key institutional clients, following the announced departure of Mark Wiedman, once seen as a potential successor to Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink.
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Joe DeVico will become head of the Americas client business, while remaining co-head of US wealth advisory. Jaime Magyera, also co-head of the US wealth group, will take on new responsibilities for the firm’s retirement business, Fink and BlackRock President Rob Kapito said Wednesday in a memo to employees.
Armando Senra will continue to lead the Americas institutional business and overall business in Canada and Latin America, according to the memo.
The firm is also starting a “global partners office” to oversee business involving the biggest investors, including insurers and sovereign wealth funds, and companies and corporations looking to raise funds in capital markets.
Leading the office will be Charles Hatami, a senior managing director who oversees business in the Middle East, financial markets advisory and global insurance, as well as Stacey Mullin, the firm’s global chief of staff who reports to Fink.
“The connection between these two – between asset owners and those looking for capital – is where BlackRock plays a distinct role,” Fink and Kapito said in the memo.
The moves follow the firm’s almost $30 billion deal spree last year, which is bringing into the firm a group of senior executives and a slate of business key to the firm’s future. Fink and Kapito highlighted Bayo Ogunlesi and Raj Rao joining the firm from Global Infrastructure Partners, and the future additions of executives from Preqin Ltd. and HPS Investment Partners, the private-credit shop that BlackRock is in the process of buying.
Wiedman, 54, the head of global client business and 20-year veteran of the firm, is choosing to pursue opportunities outside the company, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Wiedman oversaw the early growth of the firm’s massive ETF business, helped start its prominent financial-markets advisory arm that has advised the Federal Reserve and US government through financial crises, and led corporate strategy for BlackRock.
Most recently, he has been in charge of the global client business and relationships with key financial clients worldwide. As part of the changes unveiled on Wednesday, BlackRock will include its marketing and digital wealth business in its “global product solutions” group.