WL Ross & Co. LLC, the private equity firm founded and headed by billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, announced the appointment of Stephen Toy and Greg Stoeckle as senior managing directors and co-leaders effective May 1.
The appointment of Toy and Stoeckle is part of the initiative of the private equity firm to further develop a second generation of management who will lead the company. Some industry observers suggested that Wilbur Ross, who is now 76 years old, is preparing for his succession.
Wilbur Ross remains chairman and chief strategy officer
Wilbur Ross will remain as chairman and chief strategy officer of his private equity firm. He will also continue to serve on the investment committee of WL Ross & Co. LLC and chairman of certain committees under which he is presently serving.
In a statement, Wilbur Ross said, “In recent years, we have been evolving toward second generation management. With Stephen leading the investment side of our business and Greg in charge of all the other aspects, I will now have more time to devote to developing and implementing the macro strategies that always have been central to our portfolio decisions.”
He added that Jim Lockhart, vice chairman of WL Ross & Co. LLC, will continue his role for the Financial Institutions Group of the firm. Wendy Teramoto has been named to the management committee to support the leadership of the firm.
The co-leaders’ qualifications
According to WL Ross & Co. LLC, Mr. Toy has been working with the firm since its inception and has been the chairman of the investment committee. He is a member of the board of directors of Amalgamated Bank, International Auto Components, Compagnie Europeenne de Wagons, Permian Basin Materials and Plascar.
On the other hand, Mr. Stoeckle previously served as president and managing director of loan business of Invesco Ltd (NYSE:IVZ) before joining WL Ross & Co. LLC. The firm described him as a top quartile performer as he was able to grow assets under management from $1 billion to $27 billion. He was the former chairman of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association.
