Hedge fund firm CQS’s chief executive officer Xavier Rolet is stepping down into the role of strategic adviser about a year after he started as CEO.
Beginning next month Rolet will focus on strategy and client development, a move he requested “for reasons unconnected with CQS,” according to a statement Wednesday from CQS. As part of his transition away from a full-time role, the firm named chief financial officer Serge Harry as deputy CEO.
A spokesman for CQS declined to comment on Rolet’s move beyond saying it was for personal reasons. Rolet, the former CEO of the London Stock Exchange, became chief executive of CQS last January to allow founder Michael Hintze to focus on managing money for the hedge fund.
“We have benefitted hugely from Xavier’s drive and business acumen and have made significant progress during his tenure as CEO,” Hintze, executive chairman and senior investment officer, said in the statement. Under his leadership, the firm has offered new credit products, started a long-only equities business, and brought on board an Asia macro team in Hong Kong, Hintze said.
The billionaire founder of CQS also pointed to recent hires Paul Graham and Roger Guy, who will be expanding the hedge fund firm’s equity offerings with long-short strategies. Founded in 1999, CQS’s asset under management rose 12.5 percent to a record $20 billion, according to the statement.
“I have every confidence that the senior management team including Serge, Paul Massey and the executive committee will build on this progress,” Hintze said.
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Deputy CEO Harry, who joined CQS as CFO in June, was previously a member of the executive committee of the London Stock Exchange Group, according to a CQS statement at the time. Massey, the hedge fund firm’s chief operating officer, has been at CQS since 2004.
“As strategic adviser, Xavier will continue to provide the firm with strategic direction and advice, and use his network to help us with client development,” Hintze said.
