GAM Chairman Johannes de Gier has decided to retire. The replacement for the long-time boss at the asset manager has been selected, but needs to be approved by shareholders first.
Johannes de Gier will step down from his job as chairman of Zurich-based GAM and won’t stand for reelection at the annual general meeting on April 27.
«I will be leaving GAM with a strong management team and a board of directors ready to take the company into the next successful chapter of its history,» said de Gier in a statement today.
In reality, GAM needs to turn the ship around after a disappointing 2016 and as the company has to enact on a strategic repositioning.
Alternative Bid by RBR Capital
Not all shareholders seem to have faith in the current board of the company. Zurich-based hedge fund RBR Capital for instance has presented three of its own candidates for election to the board, Rudolf Bohli, William Raynar and Kasia Robinski as the new chairwoman.
Of course, RBR Capital so far has a limited say in the company with a stake of 2.1 percent.
Board Member Ready to Take Over
GAM doesn’t mention the RBR proposals in its own statement. De Gier presented board member Hugh Scott-Barrett as the company’s choice as chairman. Diego du Monceau, Nancy Mistretta, Ezra S. Field and Benjamin Meuli will stand for reelection.
GAM also presented David J. Jacob as a new member of the board, pending the approval by the AGM. Jacob is the chief executive officer of Rogge Global Partners, an asset manager specialized in fixed-income strategies. Rogge has been taken over by Allianz Global Investors last year.
