The former boss of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Xavier Rolet, will join CQS, a $18 billion hedge fund, as its new CEO.
Rolet will join the firm, founded by Sir Michael Hintze, from 14 January 2019, to lead the firm’s next stage of growth.
Meanwhile, Hintze will become group executive chairman, allowing him to focus on his existing role as senior investment officer.
“I am excited that Xavier is joining us and very pleased that we have been able to attract a CEO of such calibre who will help establish CQS for the long-term. He has the experience and has demonstrated he knows how to build financial services businesses,” said Hintze.
Rolet, a former Lehman Brothers equity trader, stepped down as CEO of the LSEG in November last year where he helped transform the business from being solely a stock exchange operator and expanding into market data and post-trade services.
During his nine-year tenure, he was responsible for the growth in LSEG’s market capitalisation from £800 million to almost £14 billion today.
Rolet joins CQS that delivered profits of $160.4 million on revenues of $310.8 million between 1 January 2017 and 31 March 2018. Its assets under management also rose by a third during that period, currently standing at around $18 billion.
“CQS has a strong platform from which to grow. It has a great brand, investment management platform and talented people. I am very much looking forward to working with our teams to grow the Firm in a rapidly changing environment for investment management,” added Rolet.
CQS has offices in London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, with investors including pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, funds of funds, endowments and pension funds.