The two executives, who have led BlackRock's influential advisory business since 2020, will each be promoted to new roles at the asset manager, a spokesperson told Business Insider, as BlackRock makes sweeping leadership changes across its businesses.
The company named Brandon Hall as the company's deputy chief operating officer, reporting to Rob Goldstein, BlackRock's chief operating officer and a prominent company executive. He replaces Stacey Mullin, who has held the position since 2022 and was recently named chief of staff to BlackRock boss Larry Fink.
Ben Leax, co-head of Financial Markets Advisory at Hall, was appointed to the newly created position of deputy head of the financial and strategic investors group on January 12. He will report to Charles Hatami, who leads the group known as FSIG and will lead efforts to strengthen BlackRock's business in the Middle East.
A BlackRock spokesman said on Friday that it was currently looking for a new FMA boss to report to Leax.
Hatami and Goldstein wrote in an internal memo to staff on Thursday that the deputy chief operating officer position requires someone “who can operate at the intersection of strategy and execution to promote the highest bar of operational excellence and risk management.” as BlackRock “takes its next step.” growth phase.”
The FMA, which advises clients such as governments, central banks and troubled banks on complex matters, has been something of a springboard for executives who now have a higher profile in the firm. Martin Small, now the New York-based company's chief financial officer, previously held positions at the FMA. Hatami was recently appointed to the company's top global leadership board.
And Mark Wiedman, the head of global client business who is considered a leading candidate to succeed Fink as chief executive, helped build FMA when he joined BlackRock two decades ago.
“Through Brandon’s experience and leadership, he has demonstrated the ability to drive the greater scale we need to navigate our ever-changing industry,” they wrote in the memo, a copy of which was seen by BI. Hall joined the firm in 2010 from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and held a top strategy position in BlackRock's exchange-traded funds business.
Leax will help execute the company's “commercial strategy with insurers by expanding our private market offering and enabling new corporate partnerships,” Goldstein and Hatami wrote.
Mark Erickson, global head of the Financial Institutions Group, and Mark Azzopardi, who runs insurance solutions globally, both report to Leax.
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