Thierry Lagrange has been appointed the successor to Théodore Economou as CEO of the CHF4 billion ($4.6 billion) CERN pension fund.
Lagrange has been with the international nuclear research group since 1985, when he joined as contract officer. His latest role at the organisation was head of finance, which he retains.
“We don’t pretend we can call the market—that’s borderline delusional. People spend hundreds of millions trying to do this.” – Theodore Economou in 2012.Lagrange officially took over from Economou, who announced he would step down from the role last year, on January 1. The pair will work together for a transition period until the end of the month.
Elena Manola-Bonthond, head of strategic planning at the pension fund, will support Lagrange in his new role.
Lombard Odier Investment Managers has named Economou CIO of its multi-asset business, effective 1 February 2015. The unit, which managed $5.2 billion at the end of December, also includes a fiduciary management division.
As CEO—then additionally CIO—of the CERN pension, Economou oversaw its entire restructure. He and the team created system of risk and investment management that has become known as the CERN Model.
The multi-asset, factor-driven model aims to preserve capital while maximizing returns relative to risk.
At Lombard Odier, Economou will build on a similar approach that the investment manager began applying to its own employee pension fund in 2009.
Last year, CIO revealed Economou had taken the role as investment chair of this fund.
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