Former Old Mutual Global Investors chief executive Julian Ide has been appointed as chief executive of fund house Martin Currie.
Mr Ide joined Martin Currie as head of distribution and business development in May 2018, and has now replaced Willie Watt, who had been chief executive of Martin Currie for 18 years and will remain with the company as chairman.
Prior to joining Martin Currie, Mr Ide spent 18 months as chief executive of ETF provider Source, which was sold to Invesco.
Prior to that, he was chief executive of Old Mutual Global Investors for four and a half years.
It was during this time that he recruited Richard Buxton to the firm as a fund manager and head of UK equities.
Mr Ide had previously worked with Mr Buxton at Schroders, where the latter was a UK equity manager and the former was head of European Retail.
Mr Ide had also worked at Credit Suisse, ABN Amro Asset Management and Merill Lynch.
Martin Currie is an affiliate of Legg Mason.
Mr Watt said: "Julian joined us as the standout candidate to lead Martin Currie as we looked toward our future.
"With early successes in rejuvenating our engagement in institutional distribution and in engaging strategically with Legg Mason’s distribution network, he has quickly affirmed our faith in his abilities.
"I am proud of the nearly two decades I have spent in building our investment capabilities and world class client solutions.
"I look forward to the prospect of Martin Currie continuing to achieve the very best for our clients and have no doubt that our firm will continue to reach its full potential under Julian."
david.thorpe@ft.com
