Bailard, an independent wealth and investment management firm headquartered in Foster City, Calif., has transitioned Sonya Thadhani Mughal from chief operating officer (COO) and chief risk officer (CRO) to the position of chief executive officer (CEO), the company recently announced in a news release.
In her new role as CEO, Mughal will remain a portfolio manager for the all-cap growth/technology and science equity strategy.
Mughal, who spent her entire 27-year financial career at Bailard, has held a number of leadership roles with the firm, including chief investment officer (CIO). She earned her Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1997 and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of San Francisco.
Mughal succeeds CEO Peter Hill, who is transitioning to the position of executive chairman, where he will continue to focus on corporate strategy, as well as investment management as a senior member of the international equity portfolio management team.
Joining Bailard in 1985 from the U.K., Hill has played a critical role in Bailard’s growth, particularly in leading the firm’s institutional asset management and, more recently, in the formation of the Bailard Foundation.
Mughal’s transition to CEO marks the second leadership transition in Bailard’s 52-year history. The first leadership change from Tom Bailard to Peter Hill in 2008 marked Bailard’s transition from a founder model to employee-ownership. Hill, Mughal, and Bailard’s employees have a long commitment to remaining independent, with 70% of its employee base owning company stock as of 2020 year-end.
Bailard also announced the transition of Burnie Sparks, Jr., from the role of president to vice chairman. Sparks has been with the firm for 39 years.
In addition to reshuffling key C-suite leadership roles, Bailard also announced several additional appointments in the news release.
Mike Faust, who has 19 years of service with Bailard, will assume the new title of president of the Wealth Management Group.
Kim Aquino, a senior investment counselor with 25 years at Bailard in the Wealth Management Group, has been promoted to director of operations for the Wealth Management Group.
Jon Manchester, who joined Bailard over four years ago from Wells Fargo’s ESG asset management firm Nelson Capital Management, will become chief strategist of the Wealth Management Group.
Dave Harrison Smith, who is the lead portfolio manager on the all-cap growth/technology and sciences equity strategy and has been with Bailard for 12 years, will become an executive vice president.
Founded in 1969, Bailard manages nearly $5 billion in client assets for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, endowments and foundations, as well as institutional investors seeking specific single-asset strategies.