Oppenheimer Shakes Up Distribution Group

The firm says seven business units will be organized around specific intermediary and end investor needs to create the new organization, which will be headed by the firm’s new head of distribution, John McDonough.

In addition to McDonough’s promotion, the first is making a list of other personnel moves in creating the distribution unit, as follows:

• Rocco Benedetto has been promoted to the role of head of broker/dealer distribution. Benedetto and his team will be responsible for leading intermediary business sales activity across all channels. He is also responsible for the OppenheimerFunds’ strategic accounts business and several other business lines that include the firm’s CEO Advisor Institute and eDistribution channels. 

• Mark Santero was promoted to head the newly created private bank, trust bank and family office division. This group will be focused on providing solutions to financial institutions serving the ultra-high-net-worth space, as well as creating awareness and insight into asset classes and investment strategies.

• Geoff Crumrine has been appointed as the interim head of institutional business. The firm’s new institutional mandate will include identifying products and service needs for large institutional buyers. This team will also work to build relationships and sales opportunities through both the investment consultant community and through direct relationships with institutions. They will also be responsible for the identification and management of international distribution joint partnerships. The firm is initiating an internal and external search to find a permanent head of this business unit.

• Mike Sussman has been appointed the interim head of registered investment adviser (RIA) business. Sussman’s team will provide investment and business consulting services to unaffiliated registered investment advisers. The firm is initiating an internal and external search to permanently head this business unit.

• Kathleen Beichert will rejoin the distribution team as head of third-party business. This group will deliver products and services to retirement defined contribution investment only (DCIO), sub-advisory services and third-party asset management platform clients.   

• Lamar Kunes will succeed Santero as the head of distribution operations. Kunes and his team will be tasked with providing service to all distribution clients and channels including all administrative, analytics, financial and support activities of the distribution organization.

• Pete Novak will now report directly to McDonough as head of platform analytics. His team will be responsible for investment research analytics and relationships with client research teams across all channels, as well as development and communication of investment analytics for both OppenheimerFunds and its competitors.

“This is an exciting time for our organization,” says McDonough. “In a world where growth rates are slowing, this new structure will help us grow and evolve the way we interact with clients.”

More information is available here.