Mellon Unit, Rocked by Defections, Hires State St. Exec to Run Show

institutional asset management subsidiary has brought in a marketing expert to run the enterprise. Francis D. "Frank" Antin, has left his post as a senior vice president at State Street Bank and Trust Co. to become chief operating officer at Boston Company Asset Management Inc. Mr. Antin, who starts his new job today, reports to Christopher "Kip" Condron, a Mellon Bank Corp. vice chairman who has been overseeing Boston Co. since April. Boston Company Asset Management - which advises corporations, endowments, and foundations- has $13.5 in institutional assets under management. It is one of nine subsidiaries of the Boston Co., a $715 billion investment management firm owned by Pittsburgh-based Mellon Bank Corp. Last April, the asset management subsidiary lost 40% of its assets following a defection of Desmond J. Heathwood, the unit's former chairman and chief investment officer, and a slew of money managers who worked for him. The defections followed a failed effort by Mr. Heathwood and several of his top deputies to purchase the institutional money management unit from Mellon. In July, Mr. Condron hired Alexander "Toby" Webb 3d as chief investment officer to replace Mr. Heathwood. Mr. Antin will oversee all marketing and operational details of the subsidiary. Mr. Condron believes that having one executive, Mr. Antin, run the business with another executive in charge of investments is the "model" way to structure an investment management firm. "The combination of my being able to attract Toby and Frank to the firm solidifies the Boston Co., not only today, but also for the future," Mr. Condron said. Mr. Antin's strengths lie in marketing processing services such as master trust work. Outsiders believe his appointment will boost revenues at the firm while it continues to rebuild. Dennis F. Shea, an bank analyst at Morgan Stanley & Co., thinks Mr. Antin's experience in marketing the processing business should be helpful because "that's where a lot of the revenues do come from in the Boston Co. "They're trying to make up for the loss of people going to Boston Partners. They've got to do an awful lot of marketing to get assets back so they're hiring someone with a lot of marketing experience," Mr. Shea said. Mr. Condron said Mr. Antin is expected to meet extensively with clients to repitch the firm's products and services - a tactic Mr. Condron has used during the past six months. "There is over 70% of our client base remaining intact, which is a terrific accomplishment in light of the circumstances we went through," Mr. Condron said. In addition to marketing the firm, Mr. Antin takes on the day-to-day management of its product delivery to investors. These are responsibilities Mr. Condron took care of himself until Oct. 30, when he was also named president and chief executive of the Dreyfus Co., another Mellon Bank investment business unit. Mr. Antin's departure came as a surprise to State Street officials, according to a bank spokesman, who added that the bank had not yet determined his replacement. Mr. Antin spent 10 years at State Street, where most recently he spearheaded international product development and delivery. Marketing initiatives Mr. Antin oversaw at the bank included Private Hedge, a program for institutional investors that provides status reports on their allocations in real estate and venture capital. Mr. Antin also headed State Street's master trust services, its North American global trust divisions, and the marketing of its mutual fund complex.

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