In April, Blackrock reshuffled its top management team. Rachel Lord however (pictured below), the head of Blackrock and ETFs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, kept her job. Several observers of the ins-and-outs at Blackrock claim that the derivatives expert played a role in the changes among staff in Switzerland.
Her demanding style had led to a surge in directives from the London headquarters of iShares and the observers reported friction with asset managers. Lord, accustomed to an investment banking style of management, had urged the firm to move services to the digital channels available.
Autonomy for Country Organizations
Blackrock Switzerland says these observations were mere claims. Of course, the company was developing digital tools in various entities of Blackrock, but they were there to support distribution, not to replace it.
Lord also worked to give more autonomy to the country organizations, which for instance was why the institutional business had been put under the guidance of the country heads.
Women Empowerment
The sources had mentioned another reason for the departures at iShares in Switzerland. They claim that the company in the Emea region was promoting female careers for the sake of it – a claim that appears slightly awkward in a male-dominated business. Blackrock for sure is keen on diversity and Lord has repeatedly supported the move.
Today, 42 percent of Blackrock’s executive board in the Emea region is female and 50 percent of all graduates it hires in Europe are similarly female. The Swiss iShares team is composed of four women and four men. At Blackrock Switzerland, the share of women is 37 percent. Still, a spokeswomen denied that the company only hired women in Switzerland: «This is rubbish.»
Rubbish or not: Mirjam Staub-Bisang, who was named head of Blackrock Switzerland last autumn, and iShares Switzerland boss Ed Gordon face a number of challenges, both on a business and on a cultural level.
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