Mellon Bank Corp.'s Boston Company Asset Management unit has tapped Francis D. "Frank" Antin for chief executive officer, a post vacant since August.
Mr. Antin said he plans to rebuild the institutional money management division, which lost 40% of its business after an executive exodus in 1995. He added that he hopes to attract clients by beefing up the firm's international investment capabilities for U.S. clients.
"Half of the world's market capitalization is overseas, and the U.S. clients are going to be moving more money overseas," Mr. Antin said during an interview Friday.
Mr. Antin joined the Boston Co. unit, which is a division of Mellon Global Asset Management, in 1995 and most recently was vice chairman and chief operating officer.
Mellon Global Asset Management consists of eight institutional investment management firms, with $153 billion of assets under management, including $13 billion in mutual funds.
During Mr. Antin's tenure as chief operating officer, the Boston Co. unit's assets under management grew 21%, to $17 billion. Since January 1996 the number of clients has grown from 255 to 292.
"We're moving at an even faster clip this year," he said.
In his new post, Mr. Antin will be responsible for daily operations and adding business. The promotion was announced Thursday and took effect immediately.
"The formulation of that strategy is going to be the biggest change for me," Mr. Antin said. "It's a global strategy that includes the U.S. marketplace."
Before joining Boston Co., Mr. Antin, 47, had been director of global marketing and product development at State Street Bank and Trust Co. He previously worked for International Business Machines Corp.
Mr. Antin succeeds Christopher "Kip" Condron, who will remain chairman of the Boston Co. unit and chief executive officer of Dreyfus Corp.
Mr. Condron is also vice chairman of Pittsburgh-based Mellon, which owns Dreyfus and Mellon Global Asset Management.
Alexander "Toby" Webb 3d, the Boston Co. unit's vice chairman and chief investment officer, is to expand his responsibilities to broaden the firm's investment management capabilities and international reach.
"Frank and Toby are an excellent team who, during the past 15 months, have rebuilt and repositioned the firm for continued growth," Ronald P. Hanley, chief operating officer of Mellon Global Asset Management, said in a statement.
"A key strategy for our future growth will be to transform Boston Company Asset Management into a global asset management firm," Mr. Hanley said.
