Allianz Global Investor's (AllianzGI) chief executive Cristobal de Mendez de Vigo has defected to European fund manager F&C Asset Management (F&C) after 11 years with the firm.
Spanish-born Mendez de Vigo had only been chief executive at AllianzGI since 2005, when he replaced Peter Rayner in the top job.
The disbandment of AllianzGI's fund manager distribution capabilities in Australia in February, however, meant there was no longer a job for him.
According to one former colleague it had been expected Mendez de Vigo would take on another job within AllianzGI.
Instead, he will become head of distribution and business development at F&C in London, focusing on the institutional and European side of the business.
F&C chief executive Alain Grisay said Mendez de Vigo's appointment was part of a drive to strengthen F&C's distribution team.
F&C recently launched a three-year plan to boost its earnings per share by 50 per cent, after its earnings slid and it suffered a net outflow of funds last year.
