Fidelity appears to be assembling its new batch of all-stars. The MFWire broke the news last month that the Boston Behemoth hired ING's Kathy Murphy to head up its personal investing unit (see The MFWire, 12/4/08). Now, Fidelity tapped Peter Cieszko, the top executive at Evergreen Investments, as president of Fidelity Investments Institutional Services.
Cieszko, 48, will start at Fidelity on January 12 and report to Michael Clark, president of Fidelity Institutional Products Group.
Peter Cieszko FIIS President
Word of Cieszko's hiring comes less than a week after Wells Fargo completed its purchase of Evergreen parent Wachovia Corp.
In July of last year, Evergreen picked Cieszko, then the head of its global distribution unit, to become CEO following Dennis Ferro's retirement at yearend.
Two weeks ago, an Evergreen spokeswoman confirmed to The MFWire that Cieszko was leaving in early January and will not be replaced (see The MFWire, 12/23/08).
At Fidelity, Cieszko will be in charge of a $272 billion business that provides investment management services through more than 1,000 financial institutions and 44,000 advisors.
Before joining Evergreen two and a half years ago, Cieszko was the head of global distribution for Legg Mason, which he joined as part of the company's asset swap with Citigroup. Earlier in his career, he was a top executive in Citi's Smith Barney unit, where he played a key role in the wirehouse's separately managed account efforts.
Fidelity announced Ciezsko's hiring Tuesday, along with the appointment of Ed Orazem, former managing director of global wealth management for Citigroup, as president of Fidelity Family Office Services.
Company Press Release
BOSTON, January 6, 2009 -- Fidelity Investments® today named Peter Cieszko, former president and chief executive officer of Evergreen Investments, as president of Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company, Inc. The company also announced the appointment of Ed Orazem, former managing director of Global Wealth Management for Citigroup, as president of Fidelity Family Office Services.
Cieszko will join Fidelity in January 2009 and report to Michael K. Clark, president of Fidelity Institutional Products Group. Orazem will join the company in February and will report to Charles G. Goldman, president of Institutional Platforms for Fidelity Institutional Products Group.
“With the Institutional Products Group, we are aggressively building a market-leading organization serving a diverse set of intermediary markets that has the scale, flexibility and innovative capabilities needed to win in a turbulent and changing business environment,” said Clark. “Our Institutional Services and Family Office businesses are critical to our goal of positioning Fidelity as the premier destination for intermediaries to do business.
“Peter and Ed are strong and experienced managers with proven success in leading organizations and ensuring that businesses can grow effectively, efficiently and aggressively, while at the same time maintaining a laser-like focus on improving the customer experience,” Clark added.
Prior to joining Fidelity, Cieszko was president and CEO of Evergreen Investments, the investment management arm of Wachovia. Since 2006, he also held the position of president of Global Distribution and Product Management at Evergreen with responsibilities for the firm’s long-term growth strategies including domestic and international sales and distribution, product development and product management.
Cieszko joined Evergreen from Legg Mason, where he most recently served as head of U.S. Distribution. Previously, he served as head of U.S. Retail and High Net Worth for Legg Mason’s predecessor firm, Citigroup Asset Management, representing approximately $200 billion in assets under management and over $1 billion in annual revenues. In addition to P&L responsibilities, Cieszko managed sales, marketing, client service, product development and business development in the United States.
Prior to 2000, Cieszko was managing director of Distribution, Product Development & Business Development for Nuveen Managed Assets with responsibility for the firm’s product development and overall distribution of its investment management services. Cieszko also has held senior positions with Montgomery Asset Management, E.F. Hutton & Company and Merrill Lynch.
Orazem joins Fidelity from Citigroup, where he has served as managing director, Global Wealth Management, since 1995. Since 2006, he also has been responsible for the Citi Family Office, the ultra-high-net-worth product management arm of Global Wealth Management. Orazem developed Smith Barney’s Trust Company from a start-up to a national presence and managed the merger with Citi’s Trust and Estates department to form Citigroup Trust. Additionally, he was responsible for the start-up of Smith Barney’s Credit and Lending Department as well as the Private Capital Group. Orazem also managed Citigroup Private Bank’s Custody and Advisor Services, which provides custody service to family offices, high-net-worth investors and advisors.
Prior to joining Citigroup, Orazem was a managing director at Loeb Partners. There, he structured and managed private equity investments. He also has held senior management positions with Reliance Group Holdings, Inc., and Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company.
About Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments is one of the world’s largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of over $2.5 trillion, including managed assets of over $1.2 trillion as of November 30, 2008. Fidelity offers investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and human resources and benefits outsourcing services to 24 million individuals and institutions as well as through 5,500 financial intermediary firms. The firm is the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans, the largest mutual fund supermarket and a leading online brokerage firm. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.
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