Quantcast
The MFWire
Manage Email Alerts | Sponsorships | About MFWire | Who We Are

Subscribe to MFWire.com's News Alerts [click]

Rating:As GMO Buys, Hayward Expands His Leadership Team Not Rated 5.0 Email Routing List Email & Route  Print Print
Wednesday, July 15, 2020

As GMO Buys, Hayward Expands His Leadership Team

Reported by Neil Anderson, Managing Editor

Scott Hayward is making several changes to GMO's [profile] leadership team, and the firm is also preparing to buy a fellow value-focused asset manager.

Scott Louis Hayward
Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo LLC
CEO, Board Member
Today Hayward, CEO of GMO, confirms that the Boston-based, employee-owned firm has agreed to buy Chicago-based Usonian Investments, an institutional asset manager focused on Japanese equities. Usonian is led by PM Drew Edwards, CEO and chief investment officer of the boutique.

Usonian has about $1 billion in AUM and 10 non-clerical staff, according to the firm's most recent form ADV, filed on March 31. Edwards is listed as owning 75 percent or more of the company, while chief compliance officer Rami Natsheh is listed as owning less than five percent. According to the GMO folks, they plan to offer Usonian's strategy as a standalone offering, in addition to incorporating it into GMO's asset allocation portfolios.

GMO has about $65 billion in AUM, including about $15 billion in its mutual fund business, and 400 employees, according to the firm's most recent form ADV, filed on March 27.

As for the GMO leadership team, recent new hires include: Roy Henriksson, joining in the newly created role of head of investment risk and trading; George Sakoulis, rejoining as head of investment teams (which oversees all of GMO's investment teams except the asset allocation team); and Hylton Socher, who joined back in January in the newly created role of chief technology officer. And shifting GMO leaders include: Carolyn Haley, head of operations, taking on an expanded role as head of operations, finace, and fund treasury and tax, succeeding chief operating officer Jean-Pierre Mittaz; Mittaz, who is becoming a senior advisor to the firm; and Andy Martin, GMO's first head of investment teams, taking the newly created role of head of investment product strategy.

Henriksson and Sakoulis most recently worked with PGIM's QMA, Henriksson as chief investment officer and Sakoulis as managing director and head of global multi-asset solutions. Back at QMA, George Patterson, co-head of quantitative equities, is succeeding Henriksson as CIO.

"With George and Roy joining Ben and Andy in investment leadership, we are adding complementary expertise to our already strong team, and the acquisition of Usonian brings another differentiated alpha source to our clients," Hayward states, putting the hires and deal in the context of GMO's "deep history of benefitting ... clients by pursuing contrarian strategies and taking advantage of significant market uncertainties."

Haley, an alumna of UMass Amherst's Isenberg School of Management and of Boston University, first joined GMO more than a decade ago as global head of financial reporting, later rising to head of portfolio operations, co-head of operations, and head of operations. Earlier on, she worked at Tekla Capital Management (fka Hambrecht and Quist Capital Management) and at PwC.

Henriksson, an alumnus of MIT, joined QMA in 2012 after a decade with Advanced Portfolio Management.

Martin, an alumnus of Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and of Yale, joined GMO back in 2017 as head of investment teams. Before that he worked at Cambridge Associates, Credit Suisse First Boston, and Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette.

Mittaz, an alumnus of the University of Zurich, joined GMO a decade ago as COO after working in a similar role at UBS Global Asset Management. Earlier on, he worked at Goldman Sachs.

Patterson, also an alumnus of Boston University, joined QMA three years ago. Prior to that he worked with Axioma, BMO Global Asset Management, Menta Capital, and BGI.

Sakoulis, an alumnus of the University of Washington and of San Francisco State University, joined QMA back in 2014 after his first stint at GMO. Earlier on, he worked at Numeric Investors, UBS O'Connor, and J.P. Morgan.

Socher, an alumnus of NYA's Stern School of Business and of the University of the Witwatersrand, served as founder and CTO of VaraQuest before joining GMO back in January. Earlier on, he worked with Fortress Investment Group, Amaranth Group, Susqehanna International Group, NationsBank Capital Markets, and Chicago Research and Trading. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE

5.0
 Do You Recommend This Story?



GO TO: MFWire
Return to Top
 News Archives
2024: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2023: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2022: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2021: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2020: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2019: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2018: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2017: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2016: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2015: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2014: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2013: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2012: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2011: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2010: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2009: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2008: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2007: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2006: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2005: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2004: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2003: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2002: Q4Q3Q2Q1
 Subscribe via RSS:
Raw XML
Add to My Yahoo!
follow us in feedly


  1. WE PNW Seattle - Holiday Party, December 3
  2. WE Boston - Women's Initiative Joint Holiday Networking Reception, December 4
  3. WE South - Wine Wednesday Holiday Celebration, December 4
  4. IDC Foundations for Fund Directors, Dec 4-5
  5. Nicsa webinar - Post-Election Insights: Impact on Global Policies, Markets, and Regulations, December 4
  6. WE Denver - 2024 Annual Holiday Party, December 5
  7. WE Washington D.C. - 2024 Holiday Dinner Event, December 5
  8. MFDF webinar - BDC Board Service 101, December 10
  9. MFDF webinar - ETF Product Trends: Board Implications, December 11
  10. MFDF webinar - Visually Mapping Board Composition: Skills Matrices in Fund Board Rooms, December 18
  11. MFDF webinar - 2024 Fair Valuation Pricing Survey: Building and Strengthening the Valuation Operating Model, January 7, 2025
  12. MFDF webinar - 15(c) White Paper Webinar Series: Part 2 – Board Processes, January 9, 2025
  13. MFDF webinar - AI and Fund Compliance, January 21, 2025
  14. MFDF In Focus - In Focus: Small Boards' Use of Skills Matrices, January 22, 2025
  15. FSI OneVoice 2025, January 27 - 29, 2025
  16. MFDF 2025 Directors' Institute, January 27 - 29, 2025
  17. 2025 ICI Innovate, February 3 - 5, 2025
  18. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, February 10, 2025
  19. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, February 11, 2025
  20. MFDF 2025 Fund Governance & Regulatory Insights Conference, March 6 - 7, 2025
  21. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, April 2, 2025
  22. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, April 15, 2025
  23. The 36th Sub-Advised Funds Forum, April 29 - 30, 2025
  24. Morningstar Investment Conference 2025, June 25 - 26, 2025
  25. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, July 9, 2025




©All rights reserved to InvestmentWires, Inc. 1997-2024
14 Wall Street | 20th Floor | New York, NY 10005 | P: 212-331-8968 | F: 212-331-8998
Privacy Policy :: Terms of Use