A Midwestern, publicly traded mutual fund firm's c-suite is both expanding and contracting this month.

Fran Skinner has joined Columbus, Ohio-based Diamond Hill Capital Management [profile] in the newly created role of chief administrative officer — investments, CEO Chris Bingaman confirmed on April 4. Then on April 19, chief financial officer Tom Line revealed via an SEC filing that Lisa Wesolek will step down as chief operating officer on April 30. She will retire from the company completely on December 31.

"The Company does not anticipate hiring a replacement Chief Operating Officer," the filing reads. "Ms. Wesolek's responsibilities will be divided among current team members."

Columbus Business First reported on the two changes.

Skinner's new role may not come as a surprise to Diamond Hill watchers. Bingaman notes that the new hire hire "has a longstanding relationship with Diamond Hill as a consultant and corporate board member." She is now part of Diamond Hill's executive leadership team, which also includes Bingaman, Line, and Wesolek.

"She will be instrumental to our firm's continued growth, with her role primarily focused on optimizing our investment team structure and succession planning, as well as coaching and development," Bingaman states.

Wesolek, meanwhile, "has been on short-term medical leave," according to the SEC filing, and is stepping down "to focus fully on her health."

Since 2009 Skinner worked as a partner at AUM Partners, and since 2010 she has served on Diamond Hill's corporate board of directors. An alumna of both Saint Xavier University and the University of Illinois at Chicago, she worked at Focus Consulting Group, Allstate, and Mellon before joining AUM Partners.

Wesolek, an alumna of Franklin University, joined Diamond Hill in 2012 as managing director and head of distribution, and at the beginning of 2014 she rose to COO. Prior to Diamond Hill she worked at Wells Fargo, Evergreen (the asset management arm of Wachovia), J.P. Morgan, and Banc One. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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