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According to a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday, BlackRock intends to make a number of leadership changes across divisions and form a new unit as the asset manager fights calls to dismiss CEO Larry Fink.
Under Fink’s leadership, the largest asset manager in the world has consistently been criticized for its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies and sustainability-related activities.
According to the memo, Gary Shedlin, Mark McCombe, and Rob Fairbairn will stand down from their vice chairman positions on BlackRock’s global executive committee, but will continue to serve as critical advisors.
The business announced in October that Chief Financial Officer Shedlin will step down on or around March 1 following the completion of BlackRock’s fiscal 2022 reporting processes.
Bloomberg News reported earlier on Wednesday that among other changes at the asset management, Sandy Boss was named chief operational officer of BlackRock’s worldwide client division.
Additionally, the corporation intends to establish BlackRock Global Markets, a new division that will supervise trading, lending, and financing. Manish Mehta, the previous head of human resources for the corporation, will run the division.
Joud Abdel Majeid will replace Sandy Boss as global head of investment stewardship and join the GEC, while Caroline Heller will replace Mehta.
Dominik Rohe succeeds Armando Senra as president of the Americas iShares and index business. Armando Senra will handle Canada and Latin America as head of the Americas institutional business.
The actions, effective February 1, will “advance BlackRock’s next generation of executives,” according to a document, despite rising pressure from activist investors regarding Fink’s succession plans.
The state treasurer of North Carolina, Dale Folwell, and the hedge firm Bluebell Capital Partners called for Fink’s resignation last week.
»Larry Fink is making leadership changes at BlackRock in response to ESG criticism«