Giordano Lombardo, group CEO and chief investment officer of Pioneer Investments, will leave the money manager following the completion of the firm's acquisition by Amundi.
Mr. Lombardo became CEO in February 2015, and has been group CIO since 2001, at the firm, which has €228.6 billion ($255.9 billion) in assets under management.
Mr. Lombardo had helped to stabilize Pioneer's assets over the past several years as the sale of firm "was being worked out. He also played a leading role in the process of joining up with Amundi and actively contributed to overseeing the integration preparatory work," said a news release from Amundi, which has €1.12 trillion in AUM. Details on his next move could not be learned by press time.
Amundi said it has now obtained all necessary regulatory authorizations and fulfilled conditions required for its acquisition. The deal will be finalized July 3, in line with expectations. A spokesman for Amundi said the new brand name in Europe and Asia will be Amundi. The U.S. brand name is still under discussion.
The integration process will take place over the next two years, and the business will be split into two divisions focused on major client segments: institutional and corporate clients — covering €860 billion in assets and led by Dominique Carrel-Billiard as head of the division, and assisted by Laurent Bertiau as deputy head — and a retail segment.
Mr. Carrel-Billiard joined Amundi in December, responsible for coordinating the integration project. Mr. Bertiau has been with the group since 2010 and is currently global head of institutional clients. The other division focuses on retail clients.
The integration of Pioneer Investments will enhance asset class coverage and expand the solutions offered by Amundi, said the release. These investment management platforms will be led by Pascal Blanque, group chief investment officer, and Vincent Mortier, deputy chief investment officer.
The management platforms will be distributed across Paris, Boston, Dublin, London, Tokyo and Milan.
Eric Brard, head of fixed income at Amundi, retains this role. The equities platform will be co-headed by Romain Boscher and Diego Franzin. Mr. Boscher is currently head of equities at Amundi, and will be responsible for equity specialties in the new group. Mr. Franzin is currently executive vice president, head of equities-Europe at Pioneer Investments. In the new structure he will be responsible for European equities.
Mauro Ratto, head of emerging markets at Pioneer Investments, will lead emerging markets in the integrated group.
Matteo Germano will take on the position of head of multiasset investment platforms for both the institutional/corporate segment and the retail segment in the new group. Mr. Germano is currently global head of multiasset investments at Pioneer Investments.
Ken Taubes, executive vice president, chief investment officer, U.S., at Pioneer Investments will become head of U.S. expertise (equity, fixed income, research) in the new group.
Amundi's current heads of real and alternative assets; exchange-traded funds, indexing and smart beta; liquidity solutions; structured; and employee savings and retirement will remain in their roles under the new structure.
The Amundi spokesman said the new company will reach about 5,000 full-time employees. The firm expects staff reductions of less than 10%, "but at the same time, some new opportunities may arise as the company develops activities in some areas," he said in an email.
Regarding investment strategies, the spokesman said the deal will have no impact on management teams on Day One, with all strategies and contracts managed by the same teams. Then under Mr. Blanque's supervision, platform heads will roll out their target organization and will perform process reviews, strategy by strategy. This could lead to "a gradual convergence towards what is deemed to be the best of breed investment process. In any event, if we were to change investment processes and teams, we will inform affected clients well ahead of time," the spokesman said.
"The acquisition of Pioneer is a major step in the implementation of Amundi's strategy," said Yves Perrier, CEO of Amundi, in the news release. "The management team and key heads are in place. Amundi is fully prepared to make the integration of Pioneer an opportunity to accelerate the growth of Amundi for the benefit of its clients, its employees and its shareholders."
A spokeswoman for Pioneer could not be reached for comment by press time.
