Bill Manning is passing the reins to a triumvirate of familiar faces, at least for now. Yet Manning himself isn't leaving the Fairport, New York-based, publicly traded asset manager just yet.

Yesterday after market close Manning, 81, co-founder and chairman of Manning & Napier, confirmed the creation of an interim office of the CEO while the company's board hunts internally and externally for a more permanent CEO. In the meantime, the interim office of the CEO will include three co-CEOs: Jeff Coons, 54, Manning & Napier's president; Richard Goldberg, 65, a Manning & Napier board member, investment banker and senior advisor to Needham & Company; and Chuck Stamey, 57, executive vice president and managing director of sales and distribution at Manning & Napier. There's no word yet on when the board will pick the next permanent CEO.

"No timeline has been established for that appointment, and the Office of the CEO will remain intact until it is no longer needed," the company's statement reads.

Manning himself puts the changes in the context of "the industry as a whole ... evolving."

"Given the changes that our firm has experienced in recent years, the Board and I believe the next step in our evolution is to engage new leadership while maintaining continuity," Manning states.

Manning has led Manning & Napier as CEO since 2016, when then-CEO Patrick Cunningham retired. At the time Manning returned the company to its pre-IPO leadership structure, creating a five-person operating committee that included both Coons and Stamey. That committee also included: Ebrahim Busheri, director of investments; Richard Yates, chief legal officer; and Jim Mikolaichik, then-CFO of Manning & Napier.

Stamey, a 25-year Manning & Napier veteran, rose to managing director of sales and distribution in 2010. He is an alumnus of both Ohio State University and Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

Coons, a 33-year Manning & Napier veteran, rose to president in 2010. He is an alumnus of both the University of Rochester and Temple University.

Goldberg has been an advisor to Manning & Napier for 20 years and joined its board of directors in 2014, a company spokeswoman confirms. An alumnus of UPenn's Wharton school, he has worked at Needham since 2009 and is an adjunct professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. A veteran investment banker focused on the financial sector, he previously worked at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Lazard, and Lehman Brothers.

As of February 28, Manning & Napier had $23.8 billion in AUM. 

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