WisdomTree Announces Key Leadership Appointments and Organizational Changes
December 11 2017 - 11:00AM
WisdomTree Appoints Jarrett Lilien in Newly
Created Role of Executive Vice President and Head of Emerging
Technologies
WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (NASDAQ:WETF) today announced key
leadership appointments and organizational changes intended to
optimally position the Company for strong execution and smooth
integration of recent acquisitions and strategic initiatives, as
well as enhance its ability for future growth. Through these
organizational and leadership structure changes, WisdomTree
believes it can unlock and scale innovation, and execute with
greater speed, efficiency and capability to seize future strategic
growth opportunities it sees in the market.
Bolstering Executive Leadership in Emerging
Technologies
The Company has also announced the hiring of Jarrett Lilien as
Executive Vice President – Head of Emerging Technologies. In
this newly created role, Mr. Lilien will oversee WisdomTree’s
outward facing technology initiatives, including its investment in
and strategic relationship with AdvisorEngine Inc., and will join
WisdomTree’s Executive Management Committee.
Jonathan Steinberg, WisdomTree CEO and President, said, “Jarrett
has contributed immensely to WisdomTree’s strategy while serving on
the Board of Directors of the Company; his distinct strengths as
both a financial services visionary and operator make him a
powerful addition to the Company’s executive management team.
He brings valuable experience, sophistication and creativity at an
important point in WisdomTree’s evolution.”
After nearly a decade of executive leadership positions at
E*TRADE Financial Corporation, including serving as President and
COO from 2003 to 2008, Mr. Lilien has served on WisdomTree’s Board
of Directors since November 2008. In connection with this
appointment, Mr. Lilien has resigned from WisdomTree’s Board and
joins the executive management team. Mr. Lilien’s
distinguished career spans traditional and online brokerage and
banking as well as venture investing across the financial services
industry with extensive global experience in the U.S., Europe and
Asia. He has built industry-transforming businesses combining
emerging technology and operational excellence.
Organizing for Speed, Flexibility and Strategic
Alignment
The following appointments will take immediate effect and all
will report to Jonathan Steinberg, WisdomTree Chief Executive
Officer and President:
- Jarrett Lilien, as aforementioned, has joined WisdomTree’s
Executive Management Committee as EVP and, Head of Emerging
Technologies. In this newly created role, Mr. Lilien will
oversee WisdomTree’s outward facing technology initiatives,
including its investment in and strategic relationship with
AdvisorEngine Inc. Mr. Lilien’s role is effective
immediately.
The following changes will be effective January 1, 2018:
- Peter M. Ziemba, Executive Vice President (EVP), Chief Legal
Officer, becomes EVP, Senior Advisor to the CEO and Chief
Administrative Officer. In this newly created role,
WisdomTree’s long-time legal counsel – serving externally since
1993 and internally since 2007 – will focus his capabilities on
executive governance, operational direction and strategic growth
initiatives.
- Gregory Barton, EVP, Chief Operating Officer, becomes EVP,
Chief Legal Officer, overseeing WisdomTree’s Legal and Compliance
Departments. Before rejoining the Company in 2012 as COO, Mr.
Barton spent 17 years serving as General Counsel to four public
companies and one private company – including serving as the
Company’s General Counsel from 1998-2002. In addition, Mr.
Barton was an Independent Trustee on the WisdomTree Trust Board,
responsible for safeguarding the interests of investors in
WisdomTree ETFs, before stepping down from that position to become
WisdomTree’s COO. Mr. Barton has played an integral role in
product development and governance at the Company, and will
continue to do so in his new role.
- David Abner, Head of WisdomTree Europe, adds the EVP title and
joins WisdomTree’s Executive Management Committee, reflecting the
increased significance of the Company’s European business
operations following the anticipated 2018 closing of WisdomTree’s
pending acquisition of ETF Securities’ $18 billion European
exchange-traded commodity, currency and short-and-leveraged
business. Before relocating to London in August 2016 to lead
the Company’s European efforts, Mr. Abner was Head of Capital
Markets for WisdomTree since 2008, where he built an
industry-leading platform and authored The ETF Handbook (Wiley,
2010) and The Visual Guide to ETFs (Bloomberg, 2013). Mr.
Abner will help drive integration efforts within Europe and
facilitate coordination with WisdomTree’s global business.
- Stuart Bell, WisdomTree’s Director of International Business,
becomes EVP, Chief Operating Officer and joins the Company’s
Executive Management Committee. In his most recent role, Mr.
Bell worked closely with WisdomTree’s executive team, regional
heads of office, department leaders and employees across New York,
London, Tokyo and Toronto to facilitate communication, optimize
resources and drive well-informed decisions; making contributions
in global governance and coordination, distribution and strategic
analysis and planning. Previously, Mr. Bell led Investor
Relations and Corporate Communications at WisdomTree since the
Company’s 2011 NASDAQ listing, affording him a global perspective
with an understanding of both internal and external stakeholder
objectives.
Seizing Our Unique Opportunity
“Ongoing strategic investments in geography, technology and
talent have been integral to WisdomTree’s growth and success since
our founding,” said Jonathan Steinberg, WisdomTree CEO and
President. “The acquisition of ETF Securities’
industry-leading commodity platform and ETP business in Europe has
the potential to transform our business in a meaningful way, making
this the right time to augment our executive management team,”
added Mr. Steinberg. “As we enter this pivotal phase in our
evolution, we are fortunate to have an experienced, cohesive and
deep bench from which we can draw new capabilities while enhancing
existing functions. These moves support our continued growth
through faster integration and execution and enhance our ability to
opportunistically pursue future strategic initiatives.”
Executive Vice Presidents Amit Muni, Luciano Siracusano and Kurt
MacAlpine will continue in their duties as Chief Financial Officer,
Chief Investment Strategist, and Chief Distribution Officer,
respectively.
About WisdomTree WisdomTree Investments, Inc.,
through its subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada
(collectively, "WisdomTree"), is an exchange-traded fund ("ETF")
and exchange-traded product ("ETP") sponsor and asset manager
headquartered in New York. WisdomTree offers products
covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and
alternative strategies. WisdomTree currently has
approximately $48.3 billion in assets under management
globally. For more information, visit our Investor Relations
website.
WisdomTree® is the marketing name for WisdomTree Investments,
Inc. and its subsidiaries worldwide.
WisdomTree Contact InformationMedia
RelationsWisdomTree Investments, Inc. Jessica Zaloom
+1.917.267.3735 jzaloom@wisdomtree.com
Investor RelationsWisdomTree Investments, Inc. Jason Weyeneth,
CFA+1.917.267.3858jweyeneth@wisdomtree.com
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