03 September 2019
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Mark Burgess, EMEA CIO and Deputy Global CIO at Columbia Threadneedle will leave the firm at the end of the month to take a career break after nine years at the firm.
William Davies, global head of Equities, will succeed Burgess as chief investment officer for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA CIO) following his departure. He will be reporting to Colin Moore, Columbia Threadneedle's global CIO.
Burgess joined Threadneedle Investments as CIO in November 2010 and became deputy global CIO in 2017 for the merged entity Columbia Threadneedle.
In "this age of longevity", I am looking forward to taking a break to spend time with my family, pursue some of my other interests and consider the next phase." Burgess said.
He commented: "It has been a privilege to lead our EMEA Investment team for close to 10 years. It's been a fantastic role and a tremendous journey, both as an investor and as a leader of an asset management business in a time of challenge and change for our industry. As asset managers, what we do and how we do it is important - for clients, employees and partners and for the economic health and prosperity of our society. I have had the pleasure of working with an outstanding team both in EMEA and globally and am proud of what we have achieved and our record of delivering for our clients.
"In "this age of longevity", I am looking forward to taking a break to spend time with my family, pursue some of my other interests and consider the next phase. The ability to hand over the mantle to William Davies, an exceptional investor and people leader, has made the decision easier and I look forward to seeing the continued growth and success of the EMEA investment team under William's leadership."
Colin Moore, global chief investment officer, commented:"On behalf of the leadership team and everyone at Columbia Threadneedle I'd like to thank Mark for his substantial contribution to our global investment teams, to the broader organisation and to our clients. Mark has been a passionate advocate of our investment process and has led and nurtured a culture of collaboration that is core to our enviable long-term performance record. He has maintained a steadfast focus on our responsibility and duty of care to our clients. As Deputy Global CIO he has helped shape our global investment organisation and capability to respond to the differing needs of our clients around the world."
William Davies joined Threadneedle Investments as a European Equities Portfolio Manager at the company's inception in 1994. He became head of European Equities in 1999 and head of Global Equities in 2011. In June 2016, he was appointed head of Equities, EMEA, and in 2017, global head of Equities, assuming responsibility for the company's equity teams across all regions. He will keep this role in addition to becoming EMEA CIO.
With Davies' promotion, Neil Robson becomes lead manager of the Threadneedle Global Select fund and the Threadneedle (Lux) Global Select fund. Robson has been deputy manager of the funds since 2011, a role that will now be taken by Davies.
