Man Group, the world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund firm with nearly $145 billion in assets, announced Thursday that a longtime employee is taking over as CEO.
Robyn Grew, the president of the firm, will be the first woman to lead Man Group when she takes over September 1. The current chief executive, Luke Ellis, plans to retire, the company said in a statement Thursday.
Since she joined Man Group 14 years ago, Grew has held numerous positions at the firm, which includes five distinct businesses and employees across the globe. She led the solutions business and oversaw the firm’s trading and execution. She has also acted as Man Group’s chief operating officer and served as the head of ESG and general counsel. Before she joined Man Group, Grew held senior positions at investment banks Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers as well as at LIFFE, the London-based futures and options exchange that has since been renamed ICE Futures Europe.
Grew has previously worked in London and Tokyo and currently lives in the U.S. She will relocate back to London where she will be based as CEO. She will also join the Man Group’s board as an executive director.
“During more than a decade working at the firm, it has developed into a world leading, technologically brilliant, active investment firm with a fantastically collegiate culture. I look forward to building on that to ensure the firm remains positioned at the forefront of active investing, attracting top talent and delivering for our clients and shareholders alike,” Grew said in a statement.
Grew added that Ellis has been an “incredible ally and mentor” to her.
A new CEO is the latest in a series of leadership changes at Man Group. In May, Mark Jones, Man Group’s deputy CEO, announced he was taking a leave of absence for family-related reasons.
The firm also announced in February that John Cryan, a member of the board and its chair, was retiring. Anne Wade, who has served as a non-executive director since April 2020, will become the new chair later this year.
“I am excited by Robyn’s vision and ambition for Man Group as a global, active investment firm, as well as her undeniable passion for creating a collaborative and diverse culture at the firm. Having worked closely with Robyn for over three years, I have seen what a strategic thinker she is, continually improving some of the firm’s most complex areas. I look forward to working together even more closely once we have both assumed our new roles later in the year,” Wade said in a statement.
Departing CEO Ellis said Man Group made it easy for him to want to stay forever, but that it was the right time to pass the responsibility to someone else.
“Having worked with Robyn for well over a decade I could not be more thrilled at her appointment,” he said in a statement. ”Robyn is truly exceptional and I know that the firm will continue to go from strength to strength under her leadership and that of the highly talented team around her.”
Grew joins a short list of women to lead one of the world’s largest hedge funds. In February, Bridgewater announced that Karen Karniol-Tambour was joining Bob Prince and Greg Jensen in leading investment decisions at the firm.
