BOSTON— Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo LLC (GMO), a global investment manager, is pleased to announce the addition of senior executives to its management team. GMO has also agreed to acquire fundamental, value-oriented Japan Equity Manager Usonian Investments. GMO continues to attract outstanding investment talent and direct capital toward areas of the market that offer compelling opportunities.
New Hires to Investment Leadership
Roy Henriksson will join GMO in October as Head of Investment Risk and Trading, a newly-created role in which he will provide risk oversight across all GMO investment and trading activities while also contributing to GMO’s quantitative research efforts. Mr. Henriksson was most recently Chief Investment Officer at QMA.
George Sakoulis will rejoin GMO in August as Head of Investment Teams, having previously been a senior member of the GMO Emerging Markets Equity team from 2009 until 2014. He will oversee all of GMO’s investment teams outside of the Asset Allocation team, which is led by Ben Inker. Previously, Mr. Sakoulis was Managing Director and Head of Global Multi-Asset Solutions at QMA.
Mr. Sakoulis succeeds Andy Martin, who will take on a new role as Head of Investment Product Strategy, in which he will be responsible for driving product strategy and overseeing efforts to find new alpha opportunities for the firm.
“GMO has a deep history of benefitting our clients by pursuing contrarian strategies and taking advantage of significant market uncertainties. With George and Roy joining Ben and Andy in investment leadership, we are adding complementary expertise to our already strong team, and the acquisition of Usonian brings another differentiated alpha source to our clients,” said Scott Hayward, GMO Chief Executive Officer.
Further Management Team Additions
In addition to these new hires, GMO is also pleased to announce two further additions to its management team that bolster leadership in key areas of the firm:
Carolyn Haley has been named to a new role as Head of Operations, Finance, and Fund Treasury and Tax, assuming oversight of these functions from Jean-Pierre Mittaz, who is transitioning from Chief Operating Officer to a role as a Senior Advisor.
Hylton Socher joined GMO in January 2020 as Chief Technology Officer, a new role that reflects the importance of technology throughout the organization, from investing and managing operations to partnering with clients.
Acquisition of Usonian Investments
GMO has also agreed to acquire Usonian Investments, a fundamental, value-oriented Japan equity manager. Led by Portfolio Manager Drew Edwards, Usonian manages more than $1 billion for several premier institutions and has built a compelling track record over nearly a decade, investing through deep research and proactive engagement with management to enhance corporate value.
The Usonian strategy will be available as a new standalone offering for GMO clients and a complementary investment within GMO Asset Allocation portfolios.
About GMO
GMO is a global investment manager that brings together focused expertise within our investment teams, industry-leading research, and tailored client service to advance our clients’ goals. Privately owned and renowned for our conviction in a valuation-based, long-term investment philosophy, GMO has been a partner to institutions, family offices, wealth managers, and consultants for over 40 years.
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