Charles Leitner was named global head of alternative investments at Deutsche Asset Management, confirmed spokeswoman Mayura Hooper. Mr. Leitner, who has been DeAM's global head of RREEF real estate and infrastructure business, will also assume responsibility for the company's Topiary Fund Management hedge fund-of-funds business as well as the DB Advisors single-manager/multistrategy hedge fund business. Both have been managed by Richard Goldsmith, managing director, who plans to retire from the firm, said Ms. Hooper. A retirement date has not been set. Mr. Goldsmith said he cannot comment on whether he is joining any other firm.
Also, Gary Sullivan, a New York-based director of Deutsche Asset Management, will become lead portfolio manager of three dedicated high-yield funds with a combined $3 billion in assets under management: DWS High Income Trust, DWS High Income Plus and DWS High Income Capital DIP. He will also join the management teams of the $200 million DWS Multi Market Income Trust fund and the $49 million DWS Strategic Income Trust fund. He replaces Philadelphia-based portfolio manager Andrew P. Cestone, who is leaving the firm. Ms. Mayura Hooper declined to comment on Mr. Cestone's plans. Ms. Hooper said Deutsche Asset Management is consolidating its below-investment-grade fixed-income operation — including high-yield bonds, bank loans and emerging market debt — in New York. Some of the firm's private wealth management operations will remain in Philadelphia. DeAM is determining whether others in the Philadelphia office are interested in moving to New York. Mr. Sullivan was the head of DeAM's high-yield group in Frankfurt before transferring to New York late last year. Details on Mr. Sullivan's current responsibilities were not immediately available.
Gary Pzegeo was named managing director and interim head of the high-yield bond team at Evergreen Investments, said spokeswoman Laura Fay. Mr. Pzegeo succeeds Dana E. Erikson as lead portfolio manager of the Evergreen High Yield Bond, Evergreen VA High Income and Evergreen Income Advantage funds. He also succeeds Mr. Erikson as co-manager of the Evergreen Strategic Income, Evergreen VA Strategic Income and Evergreen Managed Income funds; and Richard M. Cryan as portfolio manager of the Evergreen Select High Yield Bond Fund and several institutional separate accounts as well as co-manager of the Evergreen Diversified Bond and Evergreen Utilities and High Income funds. Messrs. Erikson and Cryan left to pursue other opportunities, according to a news release. Mr. Pzegeo was a director and portfolio specialist with Evergreen's high-yield team, a role that included responsibility for investment strategy, product management, sales and client service support. Ms. Fay said Evergreen will search for candidates to fill the team leader and portfolio management positions, adding it's too early to say what Mr. Pzegeo's permanent responsibilities will be.
Patrick Dunkerley was named senior vice president and midcap portfolio manager at UMB Asset Management, confirmed spokeswoman Katie McDonald. It is a new position, and he reports to Bill Greiner, CIO. Mr. Dunkerley is responsible for managing a new midcap equity strategy for institutional investors. UMB Bank and its investment subsidiaries have roughly $9.1 billion in assets under management. Mr. Dunkerley was CIO of the midcap core strategy and managing director at Victory Capital Management, where he was the lead portfolio manager on the midcap core equity team and the $350 million Victory Special Value Fund. Les Globits, who had been co-portfolio manager, assumed the lead manager role, said David Brown, Victory Capital managing director.
Bin Shi, Constantine Papageorgiou and Jie Lu have joined Acadian Asset Management as quantitative research analysts, said COO Churchill Franklin. The positions are new. Mr. Shi, who has a background in times series forecasting, machine learning and statistical modeling, was responsible for research and software development at statistical software company Mathworks Inc., according to a news release. Mr. Papageorgiou, who has experience in designing absolute-return strategies that leverage pattern recognition and machine-learning technologies, was vice president, research scientist at quantitative manager AlphaSimplex Group. Mr. Lu is a doctor of philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics department, where he focused on forensic alpha and price momentum studies.
James E. Klescewski was named chief financial officer at RS Investments, confirmed spokeswoman Christine Moravec. Mr. Klescewski replaces Terry Otton, who will remain CEO. Mr. Klescewski was CFO of JCM Partners, said Courtney Christman, administrative assistant at JCM. Ernest P. Schleimer was also hired as an analyst on the RS Investments' value team. It is a new position, and he reports to Andy Pilara, president of RS' value group. Mr. Schleimer was a senior analyst at RCM Global Investors; a spokesman for RCM was not immediately available for comment on his replacement. RS manages about $11.1 billion in mutual funds and institutional accounts.
Russell P. Fradin was named chairman and CEO of Hewitt Associates, starting Sept. 5, said Kelly Zitlow, spokeswoman. He will replace Dale Gifford, who plans to retire Sept. 30. Mr. Fradin was president and CEO of the BISYS Group. Robert J. Casale, BISYS chairman of the board, will serve as interim president and CEO while company officials search for a permanent successor, according to a news release from BISYS. The BISYS board has formed a search committee.
Alan Whalley, the former U.S. regional manager for Watson Wyatt Worldwide in Washington, will join Mercer Human Resource Consulting as U.K. chief executive and market leader, based in London. He replaces Simon O'Regan, who was promoted to head of the Europe and Asia-Pacific regions, a new position. "Given his reputation, industry experience and background, Alan will bring to the role a solid understanding of the U.K. market," Mr. O'Regan said in an e-mail response to a question. "Mercer will also benefit from his personal connections with major clients, and his past successes in driving business growth." Mr. Whalley left Watson Wyatt in December 2005 and was replaced by Kevin Meehan in January 2006, Watson Wyatt spokeswoman Claire Barraclough said.
Mark E. Singleton was named president and CEO of ULLICO. Mr. Singleton, the former CFO, has been leading ULLICO since May 18 when he replaced Edward Grebow, who left after his contract expired. A search is under way to succeed Mr. Singleton as CFO. Also, Joseph J. Hunt, general president of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, was elected chairman of ULLICO, according to a news release. He replaces Terence M. O'Sullivan, general president of the Laborers' International Union of North America, who stepped down as chairman. Mr. O'Sullivan remained on the ULLICO board.
Colin Hodges was named COO at hedge fund Frontier Capital Management in London, according to CEO Michael Azlen. It is a new position. Mr. Hodges reports to Mr. Azlen. Mr. Hodges was head of sales support, marketing, for Gartmore Investment Management's European retail business.
Brian Wade joined JLL Partners as director of investor and public relations, according to the private equity firm's website. Mr. Wade was executive director of private equity at the $48.6 billion Virginia Retirement System, Richmond. He was replaced by John P. Alouf, who was promoted from senior investment officer in the private equity program, said Jeanne Chenault, system spokeswoman. System officials are assessing whether to replace Mr. Alouf, she added.
John Fildes was named managing director and head of agency broker Instinet's Hong Kong office, spokesman Mark Dowd confirmed. It is a new position, and Mr. Fildes will report to Joseph Marchal, president and managing director of Instinet Asia. Mr. Fildes was head of equity marketing in Asia for Morgan Stanley. Mary Claire Delaney, Morgan Stanley spokeswoman, would not say if Mr. Fildes would be replaced.
Charles von Breitenbach joined AXA Rosenberg as head of North America sales and marketing, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Morgan. Mr. von Breitenbach is based in the firm's New York office and reports to Bill Ricks, Americas CEO and CIO. He will be responsible for sales and marketing, including consultant relations, for the U.S. and Canada. Jennie Paterson had been overseeing the North American duties and will now focus exclusively on her role as global head of sales, marketing and client service. Mr. von Breitenbach was previously senior managing director at Victory Capital Management, where he was replaced by Christopher Ohmacht.
Lisa Edgar, principal of Paul Capital Top Tier Investments, was promoted to managing director, confirmed spokeswoman Clare Canale. Ms. Edgar reports to David York, managing director. Ms. Edgar focuses on all aspects of portfolio construction, manager selection, due diligence and investment monitoring for the fund of funds.
John Parkin was named director of distribution at hedge fund manager Aspect Capital, confirmed John Wareham, chief commercial officer. Mr. Parkin reports to Mr. Wareham and is responsible for developing Aspect's global distribution strategy and institutional investor base in the United Kingdom. Aspect has roughly $3.8 billion in assets under management. Mr. Parkin was CIO of the hedge fund-of-funds team at Schroders. Richard King, spokesman at Schroders, said Mr. Parkin will not be replaced because the firm recently acquired hedge fund-of-funds manager NewFinance Capital and combined staff.
Glenn Lesko was named head of U.S.-based international sales and trading for agency broker Instinet, confirmed spokesman Mark Dowd. It is a new position. Mr. Lesko will oversee all sales and trading efforts for the New York-based international trading desk and will work closely with the company's agency trading desks in Asia and Europe. Mr. Lesko's hiring reflects increased client demand for access to international markets, Mr. Dowd said. A 16-year trading veteran, Mr. Lesko was a partner in CF Global Trading, and before that, he was a managing director at Deutsche Bank, leading the firm's international trading desk.
Mary Genet was named senior vice president of national institutional sales at Phoenix Investment Partners, confirmed Joe Fazzino, Phoenix spokesman. Ms. Genet was a vice president at Harris Bank, where she was in charge of institutional sales for Harris Insight Funds. In June, Phoenix and Harris formed a strategic partnership in which Phoenix Investments adopted the funds, which had $10.7 billion at the time. They were renamed the Phoenix Insight Funds, and Harris Investment Management is the subadviser.
Joe A. Fournier joined Diversified Investment Advisors as a vice president of sales for the New England, mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions, said Nina Dietrich, spokeswoman. He replaces Harry Elkin, who retired. Mr. Fournier was vice president of fee-based products at John Hancock Financial Services. Laurie Lupton, spokeswoman, did not have information on a replacement.
Robert Holderith joined ProShare Advisors as vice president and national sales manager of exchange-traded fund products, said Tucker Hewes, spokesman. It is a new position, and he will report to Gus Fleites, ProShares CIO. Mr. Holderith will direct ProShares' national sales efforts. He was corporate vice president of broker-dealer UBS Financial Services.
Weston Tompkins was named leader of investment consulting for Watson Wyatt Worldwide's Atlanta office, according to spokesman Ed Emerman. It is a new position. Mr. Tompkins will be responsible for directing and expanding the firm's investment consulting services to clients in the Southeast. He reports to Carl Hess, director of Watson Wyatt's investment consulting in North America. Mr. Tompkins was a senior investment consultant at Hewitt Investment Group. A spokesman at Hewitt declined to comment.
Arthur B. Harris joined consultant Francis Investment Counsel as senior adviser of client services for defined benefit and defined contribution clients, said Stephanie Truog, spokeswoman. It is a new position. Mr. Harris was a partner in law firm Quarles & Brady.
Erik R. Sirri was named director of the division of market regulation for the SEC, effective Sept. 12. He replaces Annette Nazareth, who became an SEC commissioner last year. Robert Colby, the division's deputy director, has been acting director. Mr. Sirri, a former SEC chief economist, is a professor of finance at Babson College, Wellesley, Mass.
Lisa Woll was named the first CEO of the Social Investor Forum, which consists of more than 500 portfolio managers, analysts, financial advisers and institutions such as banks, mutual fund companies, research companies, foundations and community investing institutions. Hiring Ms. Woll is part of the forum's "long-term plan to foster even more attention by institutional and other investors on the concept, practice and growth of socially responsible investing," , according to a statement from SIF. "The forum and its board have committed to strengthening service to our members and expanding the arena of social investing," Timothy Smith, president of the Social Investment Forum and president and senior vice president of Walden Asset Management, said in the statement. Ms. Woll was executive director of the International Women's Media Foundation; she left last year. Ms. Woll was not available for comment.
Hank H. Kim was promoted to executive director and counsel of the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, confirmed spokesman Ryan Francis. Mr. Kim succeeds Fred Nesbitt, who retired in July. Mr. Kim will remain director of government affairs and counsel of the pension advocacy group.