Vanguard Appoints BlackRock’s Salim Ramji as New CEO

Vanguard has named former BlackRock Inc. iShares head Salim Ramji as CEO after announcing in February that Tim Buckley would be stepping down from the role.

Ramji is the first external hire named to the post since the company’s founding in 1975 by John Bogle. The BlackRock executive will be the firm’s sixth CEO in its history and will start the role July 8 along with taking a board seat at the Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based asset manager and recordkeeper.

Ramji joins Vanguard after about ten years at BlackRock, where he started as global head of corporate strategy and took over iShares, the firm’s exchange-traded funds management arm, in 2019. He had previously been a senior partner with consultancy McKinsey & Company in charge of the firm’s asset and wealth management division.

“Salim is an exceptional leader who is aligned with Vanguard’s mission-driven culture, making him the ideal candidate,” Mark Loughridge, lead independent director of Vanguard’s board, said in a statement. “We have significant opportunities for growth ahead, including how technology and the client experience can drive solutions and extend the benefits of wealth management to more investors.”

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When Ramji takes over as CEO, Loughridge will succeed Buckley as board chair, taking the role of nonexecutive chair, according to the announcement. Greg Davis, president and CIO, will also join Vanguard’s board and have expanded oversight of regulatory and government affairs.Buckley announced his intention to retire after holding the CEO post for six years, not noting any further career destination. He joined the firm as founder Bogle’s research assistant in 2001.

“I have worked with Salim on the Executive Committee of the Investment Company Institute,” Buckley said in a statement. “He cares about advancing the interests of individual investors, has a strong fiduciary ethos, and thinks strategically about solutions. Salim understands our organization’s deep sense of purpose and commitment to put clients first, which is a hallmark of Vanguard’s leadership team and culture.”

Ramji holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Arts in economics and politics from the University of Toronto.