BlackRock reshapes top team to boost firepower against critics
BlackRock has named a new chief financial officer as part of a reshuffle that positions the world’s largest asset manager to fight back against criticism and promotes younger executives.
Founder Larry Fink remains firmly in control of BlackRock but is bolstering his team with several new vice chairs who will focus on outreach. In recent months, the group has come under fire from both the right and the left for its huge stakes in every large US company and its approach to environmental, social and governance investing.
Martin Small will replace Gary Shedlin, the outgoing finance chief and a former Citigroup and Morgan Stanley investment banker, from next year. As a vice chair, Shedlin will continue to work with strategic clients, especially other financial institutions. Mark McCombe, who has been leading the fight against Texas’s plans to designate BlackRock as “hostile” to fossil fuels, will focus full time on “broader engagement . . . with a wider range of stakeholders”, Fink and Rob Kapito, president, wrote in a Monday memo to staff.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Brooke Masters
