Bob Reynolds wants to take Putnam's [profile] $75-billion institutional business up a notch, and he's brought back a 17-year Putnam veteran to do just that.

Today Reynolds, president and CEO of the Boston-based mutual fund shop, confirms that Jeff Gould will return to Putnam to serve as head of Putnam Global Institutional Management. Putnam spokesman Jon Goldstein confirms that Gould's precise start date at Putnam is still TBD.

Gould hails from Lazard Asset Management, where he serves as managing director and head of institutional marketing in the U.S. He previously led distribution globally for Citigroup Alternative Investment Management and served as president of Renaissance Institutional Management. And prior to that, from 1988 to 2005, he worked in Putnam's institutional business, eventually rising to managing director in charge of institutional distribution. He also worked at Citicorp Investment Management and Value Line Asset Management.

MFWire could not immediately reach a Lazard spokesperson for comment on how Gould's duties will be handled.

While bringing Gould back to Putnam, Reynolds is also elevating the position that Gould is stepping into. Gould fills shoes emptied by Joe Phoenix, who left Putnam at the end of 2013. Goldstein confirms that, unlike in contrast with when Phoenix led Putnam's institutional efforts, Gould will report directly to Reynolds and will join Putnam's operating committee of C-suite executives, alongside retail mutual fund chief Bill Connolly.

"In bringing aboard a savvy, industry leader like Jeff Gould to take the helm of this important business, we are confident that Putnam's presence and impact in the institutional arena will only continue to grow," Reynolds states.

In the past 12 months, Goldstein notes, several key executives have joined Putnam's institutional business. They include: William Culliman, in a new position focused on serving endowments and foundations; Bonnie Goldsborough-Stanfield in an existing position on the institutional consultant relations team; Greg Lindsey in an existing position anchoring West Coast institutional sales; and Matt Vis in a new global sales team position focused on clients in continental Europe.

As of June 30, 2014, the approximately 70 people in Putnam's institutional business worked with $75 billion, nearly half of Putnam's $159 billion in total assets under management. 

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