A top executive of the battered asset manager is leaving. It is the first exit since ex-Blackrock executive Peter Sanderson took the reins at the Swiss firm three months ago.
GAM investment chief Matthew Beesley has elected to leave, the Zurich-based asset manager said in a statement on Friday. Beesley joined GAM two years ago as head of equities under then-CEO Alexander Friedman from U.K. asset manager Henderson.
Beesley took a far larger role last year in the throes of a scandal surrounding star fund manager Tim Haywood, and joined top management. Last month, new CEO Peter Sanderson flagged more spending cuts in a turnaround bid, after GAM bled 1.1 billion Swiss francs ($1.1 billion) in the third quarter.
Revamped Out of a Job
GAM said that Beesley's successful restructuring last year means he will not be replaced. His business management duties will be taken over by one of the two investment groups, while his «front office» control and trading duties will be assumed by new operating chief Steve Rafferty.
Beesely's exit is the first notable since Sanderson took over as CEO in September, while stand-in CEO David Jacob has returned to GAM's board. Besides flagging more cuts, Sanderson has quickly dispensed of a crisis team from U.K. consultant Brunswick which had helped deal with the scandal fallout.
