Yves Perrier, the long-time chief executive of European fund manager Amundi, is to take on the chairmanship of the company and will be replaced by his deputy CEO, Valerie Baudson.
The move upstairs, which will be effective as of May 10, was announced at the same time as Amundi’s Q4 results which showed a record level of profit for the final quarter.
Perrier has led Amundi from its formation in 2010 following the merger of the respective asset management arms of Societe Generale and Credit Agricole.
In that time Amundi has grown to be Europe’s largest asset manager, doubling its assets under management to €1.73 trillion.
Perrier also oversaw a number of acquisitions over the last decade including the purchase of Pioneer Investments from Unicredit in 2016 for €3.6 billion. Last year Amundi acquired Spain’s Sabadell Asset Management for €430 million.
Amundi has also expanded into Asia and established a joint venture with Bank of China in 2020. The fund manager has also sought to capitalise on its in-house technology and in the last year launched Amundi Technology, designed to compete with BlackRock’s tech platform.
The firm enjoyed a successful end to 2020 according to its latest quarterly results. Although revenues, profits and investor inflows all fell over the course of the year, in Q4 Amundi recorded its highest ever quarterly net income, €288 million, and a 5% increase on the previous year’s quarter.
Outgoing chairman Xavier Musca said the change in governance will “ensure a smooth transition and the continuity of Amundi’s development”.
In a call with reporters on the earnings announcement, Perrier said: “In the life of a company, it’s good to make this type of change when things are going well. I have always had two drivers in my life: building something and handing it on. The building is done, now it’s time to hand it on.”
Perrier’s successor, Baudson, is currently head of Amundi’s ETF business as well as its thematic investing unit. She has been a key figure in the growth of the firm’s ETF business.
Baudson said she will continue to “develop the company … in line with the strategy which has been driving Amundi’s success since it was founded”.
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