Virginie Maisonneuve is set to return to the City as Allianz Global Investors’ equities boss.
Maisonneuve (pictured) was previously the CIO of Eastspring Investment, Prudential’s Asian asset management arm, but left in 2019 after the investment team was restructured.
She joins Allianz GI this week as CIO of its €160bn equities business, replacing current boss Steve Bexera who will retire at the end of 2021.
Maisonneuve will report to global head of investments Deborah Zurkow and will ultimately be based in the fund group’s London office after she relocates from Singapore this autumn.
During her 30-year career she has held a variety of portfolio management and CIO roles for the likes of Pimco, Schroders, State Street Research and Martin Currie and has worked in New York, Boston and San Francisco, in addition to Singapore and London.
Allianz GI said the planned succession would ensure continued innovation and greater adoption of its sustainable investment offering.
The asset manager hailed Maisonneuve as a pioneer investor in areas such as China, thematics, ESG, climate change and “quanta-mental”.
“When it came to finding a successor to Steve, we sought someone of the highest calibre to ensure that our investment capability and offering develops ahead of the market,” Zurkow explained.
“Virginie fits the bill perfectly: her breadth of experience, record of highly relevant innovation and global, forward looking outlook means she is strongly positioned to help us in the development of our client offering – in equity but also as part of the leadership team of the firm.”
