Citadel Taps Ex-Merrill Execs To Push Expansion

Citadel Investment Group is capitalizing on Wall Street's shakeup by naming Tobias Gehrke and Anita Nassar to spearhead the fund's international growth plans. The two will serve as co-heads of international distribution and marketing, and lead its fundraising efforts in Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. Both join the firm from Merrill Lynch, acquired yesterday by B of A for $50 billion, where they headed government institutional sales.

Nassar was with Merrill Lynch since 2006, most recently serving as head of central banks and sovereign wealth funds. Previously, was head of central bank and government sales at HSBC, covering Asia, Europe, and the Americas. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the American University of Beirut and a baccalaureate in science from Soeurs des Saint-Coeurs College in Beirut.

Gehrke led Merrill's government institutions group within its equities and alternatives businesses, working alongside sovereign pension and wealth funds. He joined the firm in 2004 from Goldman Sachs, where he worked in equity derivative sales from 1998 to 2004. He holds an MBA from New York University and a master's degree in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Denmark.

"The two will be critical as we grow multiple businesses on an international scale," said Gerald Beeson, Citadel's chief operating officer. Citadel is based in Chicago and manages approximately $18 billion in assets.