Thornburg has added William “Billy” Rogers as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Jodan Ledford as Head of Institutional to its team, according to a statement obtained by Funds Society this Thursday.
The new hires arrived a few months after the hiring of Richard Kuhn as head of product and Jonathan Schuman as head of international, as previously reported by Funds Society.
Billy Rogers, as the new COO of Thornburg, will determine the strategic direction of technology and operations and drive interdepartmental initiatives to ensure the organization’s continued success and growth, the statement adds.
Before joining Thornburg in 2024, Rogers worked at PIMCO for 12 years in various roles, including product management, compliance officer, and head of regional operations and advisory. In 2010, he left PIMCO to join Janus Henderson, where he spent eight years as a fixed income trader and four years leading their global unconstrained macro office.
Subsequently, Rogers spent three years as an executive consultant, helping to integrate and lead a large West Coast retail SMA business. Additionally, he has participated in numerous fintech startups throughout his career.
He holds a BBA in business administration from the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico and an MBA from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.
Jodan Ledford will be responsible for developing and executing sales strategies, building and maintaining high-level relationships, and representing the company within the institutional investment community, according to the information obtained by Funds Society.
Before joining Thornburg in 2024, Ledford was CEO of Smart USA, a retirement fintech provider. Previously, he was managing director of clients at Legal & General Investment Management America, where he led a team in sales, marketing, investment solutions, product strategy, and portfolio management.
Earlier, Ledford was an executive director at UBS Global Asset Management, where he developed investment solutions and risk management strategies for large institutional clients and led a mid-market initiative for medium-sized US corporate pension plans.
He also worked as an associate in the investment banking division of J.P. Morgan, developing risk management strategies for companies with large pension plans. Ledford began his career as an actuarial analyst at Watson Wyatt Worldwide.
He holds a master’s degree in applied statistics from the University of Miami and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Emory University.
