Mark Wiseman (Art by Chris Buzelli)BlackRock has appointed Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s
(CPPIB) Mark Wiseman
to lead its $275 billion global active equities business.
Wiseman has worked at CPPIB for 11 years, latterly as president and CEO since 2012.
Mark Machin, currently senior managing director and head of international and CPPIB, has been appointed as Wiseman’s successor effective June 13. Wiseman is due to start at BlackRock in September.
“Leaving CPPIB was an extremely difficult decision and one that I deliberated over very carefully,” Wiseman in a statement released by the Canadian pension. “CPPIB is an exceptional institution on a long, strong path forward. I have every confidence in the senior management team and will watch with pride the successful delivery of CPPIB’s long-term global strategy. The opportunity to serve CPPIB for over a decade has been a great privilege. It will remain one of the greatest highlights of my career.”
Wiseman added that he would work with Machin and the board as a senior adviser until September 5 to ensure a “smooth and successful transition” before his departure.
“Leaving CPPIB was an extremely difficult decision and one that I deliberated over very carefully.”“Having worked closely with Mark Machin for several years, I have complete confidence in his ability to assume this role without missing a beat,” Wiseman said. “I believe that Mark has all the skills to lead CPPIB through the next chapter of its evolution.”
Larry Fink, BlackRock chairman and CEO, said in a statement he was “thrilled to be bringing an executive of Mark’s stature.” Wiseman “is not only a best-in-class investor but also a great leader of investors. He has deep experience in both public and private capital markets globally—having worked with and driven strong investment results for some of the biggest and most sophisticated pools of investment capital in the world.”
Wiseman’s appointment follows a major reshuffle of senior staff at BlackRock, announced at the start of this year.
The restructuring combined the group’s fundamental active equity and scientific active equity groups into a “unified active equities platform,” at the time jointly led by Chris Jones, Nigel Bolton, Raffaele Savi, and Jeff Shen.
As well as leading this department, Wiseman will also become chairman of BlackRock Alternative Investors, which covers hedge funds, private equity, real assets, private credit, commodities, and “alternative solutions.” He will also chair the asset manager’s global investment committee.
Wiseman has been named in the top 10 of CIO’s Power 100 list of the most influential investors each of the past four years, twice ranking as number one.
Related: The New-Look BlackRock: All Change for Equities, Bonds, Real Assets; Asset Owners Under Attack; 2012 Power 100 Profile: Mark Wiseman