The merger between Pioneer Investments and Amundi continues ahead and, in this context, the first changes in the teams are beginning to be announced. According to Funds Society’s best knowledge, Jose Castellano, who until now has been in charge of Pioneer Investments in the US Offshore, Latin America, and Iberia regions, has decided to leave the fund management company in order to pursue other professional projects.
Castellano, who has been Managing Director and Head of the three regions for 16 years, has been an architect of the growth that Pioneer Investments has experienced in Iberia, US Offshore and Latin America, making these areas one of the most profitable in the whole group. In recent years he has also been involved in strategic projects, globally.
Castellano has reconciled these functions with the leadership of H4U properties, his position as an investor in Thinking Heads, or, during the last few years, as Director for Southern Europe, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal in Hedge Fund Association. Prior to joining Pioneer Investments in January 2001, he was Director for Morgan Stanley’s private equity group for two years, and Director of Wealth Management for a further seven years at the same entity.
Pioneer Investments has just confirmed the news and explains that the responsibility of the regions will be shared between the in European and US teams. Cinzia Tagliabue, Head for Western Europe and Latin America, will be responsible for the management company’s distribution business in Iberia and Latin America. She will be supported by an experienced team throughout these markets dedicated to providing the best quality service to customers.
Laura Palmer, Head of Intermediary Distribution in the US, will manage the sales team based in Miami, which drives the growth of the business in US Offshore. Palmer leads the US distribution team, which focuses on relationships with key financial intermediaries in the country, and reports to Lisa Jones, President and CEO of Pioneer Investment Management USA Inc. “We are confident that this change of management will strengthen our ability to serve offshore clients with excellence in the future,” the statement said. However, Pioneer Investments has commenced the process of hiring a Sales Manager for the US Offshore market.
The Merger Continues
Castellano’s departure falls within the context of the merger between Pioneer Investments, which will continue with its usual activity, and Amundi, which will also continue its course. This week, the European Commission has given the green light to the operation, considering that the operation will not have a negative impact on the European economic space.
“The operation would not give rise to competition problems given the complementarity between the activities of the companies, the small increase resulting from the operation, and the existence of several competitors, which guarantees sufficient choice for customers,” the Brussels statement said. In this way, they could meet the deadlines and tie up any loose edges of the operation before the close of the first half of this year.
Pioneer’s acquisition by Amundi, valued at 3.545 billion Euros, was notified to Brussels on the 20th February, and has been examined under the normal merger control procedure. The acquisition makes the resulting group the eighth largest global asset manager with almost € 1.3 trillion in assets under management.
For Fórmate a Fondo
For Funds Society, Madrid