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A possible successor to BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink is leaving, narrowing down the list of candidates to become the next boss of the world’s biggest money manager.
Mark Wiedman, who is head of BlackRock’s global client business and a member of the firm’s global executive committee, has chosen to pursue opportunities outside the firm, according to a Financial Times report.
For years, investors have wondered when the 72-year-old Fink would step down. He co-founded the company in 1988 and built it into a financial giant that manages $11 trillion.
Wiedman was seen as among the likely contenders to succeed Fink, along with COO Rob Goldstein, CFO Martin Small and BlackRock International chief Rachel Lord.
Another recent high-profile departure of a potential Fink successor was Salim Ramji, who is now the chief executive of BlackRock rival Vanguard Group.
The FT’s report of Wiedman’s departure comes just ahead of BlackRock’s release of Q4 2024 earnings on Wednesday morning.
BlackRock isn’t the only Wall Street giant that generated new succession drama on Tuesday.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) elevated Jennifer Piepszak to chief operating officer on Tuesday as part of a new management shakeup, but the nation’s largest bank said Piepszak does not want to succeed Jamie Dimon as CEO.
The shake-up adds new uncertainty to the race to succeed Dimon, 68, the longest-serving CEO of the big banks and the only one left who was in charge during the 2008 financial crisis.
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Piepszak had previously been considered a favorite to land Dimon’s job.
At BlackRock, Wiedman oversaw the money manager’s efforts to help governments and financial institutions with their troubled assets during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Wiedman also led BlackRock’s iShares ETF business as it grew from $500 billion to $1.7 trillion in assets under management.
His departure comes as the money manager makes a deeper push into alternative assets with three recent acquisitions.
In December it made a $12 billion bet on HPS Investment Partners, a firm run by three former Goldman Sachs employees (GS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) that specializes in lending money to riskier companies.
In early 2024, it agreed to buy London-based data provider Preqin for $3.2 billion and private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners for about $12.5 billion.
The purchase of Global Infrastructure Partners, which closed in October, was a bet on the growing demand for new energy, transport and digital infrastructure projects in the coming years.
