Specialist asset management boutique KBI Global Investors has appointed Geoff Blake as chief executive officer, effective as of end of March.
Presently deputy CEO and global head of business development & client services, Blake (pictured above) joined the Dublin-based firm in 1994 and was appointed Deputy CEO in February last year as part of KBIGI’s long term succession plan.
He succeeds Sean Hawkshaw (pictured left) who has announced his retirement, as has CIO Noel O’Halloran (pictured below) following long and successful asset management careers,
They both joined KBIGI in 1992.
Blake worked in various sales and client servicing roles before being appointed Head of Business Development in 2006 and was based in KBIGI’s US office from 2007 to 2014, playing a key role in building out the firm’s North American business.
Since his return to Ireland, he has continued to work with clients and consultants globally, and in his current role heads up a team of 20 staff based in Ireland, the USA and France.
Blake was appointed to the KBIGI North America board in April 2008 and the Irish parent company board in 2015. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, both in Economics, from University College Dublin.
Blake said: “KBIGI is a truly sustainable business with a strong management team, exceptional employees, and a highly supportive parent – Amundi. It is an honour and a privilege to take on the leadership of the firm.”
KBIGI now manages two separate and distinct equity teams specialising in income oriented global equities and natural resources equity strategies, and the respective team heads – Gareth Maher and Colm O’Connor – will both report directly to Blake.
Hawkshaw, who is also an independent director of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, said: “The long tenure we enjoy as a firm has delivered tremendous stability and a continuity of culture – both really important features in winning trust and confidence from international investors and their advisors. We are confident that we are leaving the business in very capable hands and wish Geoff and the team well as they take the business forward’’
