RBC Global Asset Management has announced the hiring of 15-year veteran Crystal McClenthen to serve as the new head of Institutional Products for the U.S. Markets.
In this newly created position, McClenthen will run the North American Institutional Product Management team. Its goal and purpose will be to lead the product and vehicle innovation and development for the U.S. marketplace, said Tony Catinella, a spokesman, in a statement.
“Crystal will oversee all aspects of the lifecycle for RBC GAM products marketed to institutional audiences in North America, including vehicle strategy, pricing strategy, seed capital strategy, and product rationalization,” he said.
Prior to her hire, McClenthen worked as senior vice president and head of product strategy at Chicago-based Northern Trust. In that role, she improved the commercial effectiveness of the firm’s product lineup across global FlexShares ETFs, U.S. mutual funds and managed accounts. Before that, she held product management roles with both Nuveen Investment Management and Principal Financial, which were based in Chicago and Des Moine, Iowa, respectively.
“Crystal was hired because of her proven experience in product development,” Catinella said. “She joins RBC GAM with over 15 years of experience working in all phases of the product development lifecycle across multiple asset classes, including institutional products.”
McClenthen started at Chicago-based RBC GAM April 17 and she reports directly to Bruce Geddes, president of Canadian Institutional at RBC GAM, according to the firm.
The hire is the latest in an ongoing expansion at RBC, which has seen 65 new employees join as part of its accelerated investment in growing the U.S., Catinella said.
The firm is still looking to expand as it will bring in eight additional people across different business areas in the U.S., however the firm does not plan to hire any more U.S. product managers, Catinella said.