Nir Bar Dea and Mark Bertolini were named co-CEOs of Bridgewater Associates, said a memo to employees on Monday that was obtained by Pensions & Investments.
Mr. Bar Dea, currently deputy CEO, and Mr. Bertolini, an independent director and chairman of the firm's operating board of directors, immediately replace the firm's current CEO David McCormick, who resigned from the firm to consider running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Bar Dea will not be replaced as deputy CEO, said a spokeswoman for the company.
Mr. Bertolini has been hired by Bridgewater to fill his co-CEO role. He retired as CEO of Aetna in 2018.
The appointment of the co-CEOs coincides with a transfer of power from Ray Dalio, Bridgewater's founder, co-chairman and co-CIO, to a newly formed operating board of directors, according to a Dec. 28 memo to Bridgewater employees.
For years, Bridgewater maintained an operating committee "in an unofficial capacity as an internal board. This marks the next important step in the transition of leadership and ownership of Bridgewater from Ray," the memo said.
Previously, Mr. Dalio had decision-making power over the firm's operations.
The new operating board includes Mr. Dalio and other senior Bridgewater employees, including co-CIOs Greg Jensen and Bob Prince, as well as independent directors, the memo said. The rollout of the new operating board will take place over the next few months, the memo said, noting that on Feb. 14, the firm will finalize "the terms that lay out the path to an ensuing transfer of control to this new board."
In Monday's memo, Messrs. Dalio, Jensen and Prince and Mike McGavick, an independent director and the chair of the new operating board, said: "It is not easy to transition from a founder-led organization with a strong leader and strong culture while having one's own strong visions and building them out."
Bridgewater manages about $150 billion in hedge fund and risk-parity strategies as of Nov. 30.
