While the number of money management firms replacing their top staff in recent years has not been high, there have been some high-profile changes at leadership level, with promotions — and in one case, a departure — related to succession planning.
Most recently, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. shuffled its senior leadership in preparation for the spinoff of part of its asset management business by the end of the year.
Current CEO Bruce Flatt wrote in a letter to shareholders dated Aug. 11 that it was time to "further strengthen our senior management team with the elevation of the next generation of leaders."
The new Brookfield Asset Management Ltd., which will manage $750 billion in assets, will have Connor Teskey as its president, former Bank of England and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney as chairman of the board, and Mr. Flatt as CEO. Mr. Carney is currently vice chairman and head of transition investing.
Mr. Teskey will also continue as CEO of Brookfield's renewable power and transition business, and Mr. Carney will keep his other responsibilities, the letter said.
Mr. Flatt added in the letter that "to ensure the continuity and success of the partnership, we actively promote from within and move executives into new roles so they will be prepared to take on still-greater responsibilities."
Brookfield announced in May that it will spin off 25% of its asset management business. The remaining entity, which will not be spun off, will initially hold a 75% stake in the asset management unit.
Another big leadership move came in July, when Man Group named Robyn Grew as president, succeeding Shanta Puchtler, who will retire. Ms. Grew also retains her role as head of ESG at the $151.4 billion firm and some other responsibilities.
Also in August came a departure related to succession planning at Carlyle Group, when CEO Kewsong Lee abruptly left the firm. Mr. Lee had been hand-picked to take over from Carlyle's co-founders and lead a path for a new generation of leaders.
In regard to effective succession planning, industry experts said transparency is important, but there are other considerations at play, too.
Geoff Strotman, Chicago-based senior vice president at Segal Marco Advisors, an investment consultant that advises on more than $500 billion in assets, and a member of his company's alpha manager review committee in charge of choosing asset managers, said firms share helpful information about their succession plans, but some details will always be a secret among board members or other small groups.
"They keep it close to their chest because they don't want to alienate the rest of the team," Mr. Strotman said about company intentions for specific employees. For example, a firm might have more than one deputy chief investment officer. In those cases, Mr. Strotman said he probably doesn't know who the favorite is to replace the CIO, but he can still feel confident in a succession plan that includes either of the deputies.
Palash Ghosh contributed to this report.
