Mike Bell is bringing a top OppenheimerFunds [profile] alumnus to Voya Investment Management [profile] in a newly created role.

Yunchang "Ian" Qiu Voya Investment Management Head of Strategy

Today Bell, chief financial officer of Voya IM, confirms that he has hired New York City-based Ian Qiu as the asset manager's first head of strategy. According to a statement shared by a Voya spokesman, Qiu now "leads Voya IM's strategic planning, prioritization and execution efforts." Qiu reports to Bell.

Qiu previously served as senior vice president, managing director, and head of corporate development at OpFunds, leading the Gotham fund firm's M&A/corporate development team. A spokesperson for Invesco [profile], which bought OpFunds in May, did not immediately return a call for comment.

Perhaps Qiu's move and the creation of his new role is a prelude to M&A for Voya IM, the asset management arm of publicly traded Voya Financial.

"We have a clear strategy at Voya IM and are excited about our plans to continue to grow and do even more for our clients," Bell states. "Ian [Qiu] will be a great addition to the team, as we look to continue our growth trajectory and identify ways that we can build upon our expertise in specialty asset classes."

Qiu joined Voya yesterday, company spokesman Kris Kagel confirms.

"In the past, [Voya] IM's senior leadership team developed and implemented IM's growth strategy," Kagel tells MFWire. "Voya IM has experienced rapid growth over the years and, as was discussed at our Investment Day in November, we are committed to expanding the business and new opportunities in the market. The business is at a point where it makes sense to have a dedicated resource like Ian."

An alumnus of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, of Michigan State University, and of Zhejiang University, Qiu joined OpFunds in 2017. Prior to that he worked in corporate development at BlackRock, and before that in investment banking at Credit Suisse, Citadel, and Citi. He also worked at GE.

Voya IM had more than $214 billion in AUM as of June 30. 

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