BlackRock Names Latham As Global iShares Head
In early July, BlackRock Inc. announced it had appointed Mike Latham global head of its iShares ETF unit as part of a move to reorganize the world’s biggest ETF company in a global manner.
Latham, who previously served as North American head of iShares, now oversees four regions in his new post: North America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; Asia Pacific; and Latin America and Iberia. The latter three regions were previously headed by Rory Tobin, who decided to leave the company.
BlackRock bought the San Francisco-based iShares franchise from Barclays Plc in December for $15.2 billion. The firm remains the world’s largest ETF provider, but faces growing competition.
Latham’s appointment suggests that BlackRock is looking for a seasoned insider with a deep understanding of iShares to take on the company’s challenges as opposed to bringing in fresh blood from BlackRock itself or some other outside source.
FTSE Names New Executives
FTSE recently appointed a number of new senior global executives.
Guy Warren was named chief operating officer and is responsible for improving FTSE’s IT infrastructure and its operational delivery to clients, the firm said. He was previously an executive vice president and general manager in the banking division of Misys.
Jonathan Horton has been named chief marketing officer, and is in charge of marketing and business development. He has previously served as FTSE’s global head of marketing and as acting chief operating officer.
Christopher Wood was hired as managing director in charge of governance and policy. He is responsible for FTSE’s relationships with academics and is the chairman of its Index Governance Board. Wood joined FTSE from Man Global Strategies.
Reza Ghassemieh has joined FTSE from Nomura. At FTSE, he assumes the role of managing director of fundamental research and analytics.
John White was named managing director of content services and will lead a group responsible for data governance. He joined FTSE from State Street Global Advisors. |
