The $4.4 billion agreement by CVC Capital Partners to buy iShares will signal a change in management roles at the top of the world's biggest sponsor of exchange-traded funds.

As he explained to IndexUniverse.com shortly after word of the deal was made public last week, Lee Kranefuss will become chairman of the ETF business being bought from Barclays Global Investors. That will leave iShares' current chief executive officer free to focus on transition strategies and other big-picture issues going forward. (See related article here.)

In that interview, Kranefuss also said daily responsibilities for running the firm would be shared. On Monday, BGI confirmed that veteran managers Mike Latham, who is based in San Francisco, and Rory Tobin in London will  become co-CEOs of iShares operations once the CVC deal is finalized. 

"The core iShares management team has played a key part in achieving iShares' growth to date and will be instrumental to guiding the business in delivering superior client service and innovative investment solutions going forward," said Lance Berg, a company spokesman.

Kranefuss has no plans on retiring, he added. Rather, the firm's longtime CEO wants to emphasize something he has only been able to do on a part-time basis up to this point. Namely, say iShares officials, that means continuing to plot long-term strategy.

"It doesn't sound like a shocker. In fact, this makes a lot of sense," said Robert Holderith, chief executive at Emerging Global Shares and the former managing director of institutional sales at ProFunds.

He added: "When you're a company the size of iShares, product development is what it's all about. Designating a full-time strategist would seem like the next logical step in BGI's (iShares') corporate structure."

Currently, Latham is head of iShares operations in Canada and the U.S. In that role, he works with the firm's sales and marketing staff. Latham also coordinates the company's distribution channels in those countries. He joined BGI in 1994 and six years later was promoted to chief operating officer for iShares. Latham is a certified public accountant. 

Tobin is heading up iShares' index and markets group in Europe. The role includes responsibility for developing and building BGI's iShares business across Europe. But he's also in charge of the region's portfolio management activities for several different areas. Those include passive equity and asset allocation strategies.

Tobin is also overseeing iShares' European transitions management, cash management and securities lending businesses, according to the company. He joined BGI in 2004 after beginning his financial career as an equities analyst at Goldman Sachs in 1988.