PIMCO Appoints Man Group’s Chief, Roman, as New CEO

Pacific Investment Management Co. named Emmanuel “Manny” Roman as its next chief executive officer, replacing Douglas Hodge, who presided over a tumultuous time that included the departure of Bill Gross and a plunge in assets at the firm.

Roman, 52, has been CEO of Man Group Plc, the world’s largest publicly-traded hedge fund manager, since February 2013. He previously worked at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. He will assume his new position at PIMCO on Nov. 1, the Newport Beach, California-based firm said in a statement, while Hodge will become a managing director and senior adviser.

Roman’s “deep understanding of global markets, unique skills in investment management and appreciation of PIMCO’s macro-based investment process make him the ideal executive to position the firm for long-term success,” Dan Ivascyn, PIMCO’s group chief investment officer and the leader of the committee that hired Roman, said in the statement.

Roman led Man Group through a time of volatility and client withdrawals amid losses posted by one of its main funds. That experience may translate well at PIMCO, which has suffered management upheaval and lost about 25 percent of its assets since 2013, when the firm oversaw $2 trillion.

The executive will help drive PIMCO’s continued evolution as a provider of investment solutions built on the firm’s active management expertise in areas such as core bonds, non-traditional strategies, private credit, distressed debt, equities and real estate, among others, according to the statement.

Hodge, 58, was appointed CEO following the abrupt departure in January 2014 of Mohamed El-Erian. In September 2014, Gross, who co-founded the firm in 1971 and built PIMCO Total Return Fund into the world’s largest mutual fund, jumped to Janus Capital Group Inc. following a dispute with other managers. Gross, 72, sued PIMCO last year, alleging he was pushed out so rivals at the firm could divide his bonus. He also said they wanted to diversify beyond PIMCO’s debt-trading roots, a strategy Gross’s lawsuit compared to the “varied menu at a Cheesecake Factory restaurant” instead of the traditional “bonds and burgers” niche.

PIMCO, a unit of insurer Allianz SE, didn’t say how much it will pay Roman. Man Group said in a statement in May that Roman’s salary will rise 10 percent to $1.1 million this year, the first increase since 2010, and he was also awarded a $2.5 million cash bonus for 2016.

PIMCO, under pressure to improve operations and reverse outflows, began recruiting senior executives this year for positions that would bolster its leadership. The firm cut 68 jobs or about 3 percent of its workforce in June, after reducing staff about 5 percent to 2,300 during the year through March. It has also hired 140 new employees globally, in positions from portfolio management to business development.