Invesco Hires NationsBank Fund Exec

NationsBank Corp. said Tuesday that Mark H. Williamson, its consumer investing executive, will leave next month to take over as president of Invesco Funds Group, the Denver-based mutual fund company.

Mr. Williamson, 46, who has been with Charlotte, N.C.-based NationsBank for 12 years, will succeed Daniel J. Hesser as president and chief executive officer of Invesco, a spokeswoman for the fund company said. Mr. Hesser is set to retire from Invesco at the end of 1998.

At NationsBank, Mr. Williamson will be succeeded by Robert H. Gordon, who previously headed up marketing for consumer investing. Mr. Gordon will keep that role and take responsibility for the banking company's mutual fund complex.

Mr. Williamson was president and director of the bank's asset management unit, NationsBanc Advisors Inc., and had responsibility for the NationsFunds, the banking company's proprietary fund family, with $32 billion of assets under management. The brokerage unit also reported to him.

"He's really done a very good job building their asset management group," said Nancy Miller, an executive recruiter with Mark Elsweig & Co., New York.

His move to Invesco, which has more than $17 billion of assets under management, "is a tremendous opportunity," she added.

Invesco is the latest example of a fund company that has reached into the banking industry for talent. In 1995, Alliance Capital Management in New York tapped Richard Davies from First Chicago Corp. to fill a fund distribution post.

"But it works both ways,"said Ms. Miller. Peter Carman left Putnam Investments roughly six months ago, where he was chief of equities, to be chairman and chief investment officer of Citibank's global asset management division.

In the wake of Mr. Williamson's departure, Mr. Gordon and Henry Rose, president of NationsBanc Investments Inc., NationsBank's brokerage unit, will report to Owen G. Shell Jr., president of NationsBank Asset Management Group, said the spokeswoman.

Neither Mr. Williamson nor Mr. Gordon could be reached for comment by press time.

Meanwhile, at Invesco, Mr. Hesser will keep the title of chairman until the end of the year, said the company spokeswoman. The board will then decide on succession, she said.

Invesco Funds Group is a subsidiary of AMVESCAP PLC, which has $192 billion of assets under management. AMVESCAP is the result of a February 1997 merger between Invesco and AIM Management Group PLC.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER