Manny leaves Man Group: Arsenal and Remain supporter heading for Pimco
On 30 April, as Arsenal faced Norwich at the Emirates Stadium, fans staged a protest with some targeting long-serving (and highly-paid) manager Arsene Wenger.
Man Group chief executive Emmanuel (Manny) Roman – who, it was today announced, is leaving for Pimco –may well have felt some sympathy for his fellow Frenchman.
The Gunners supporter was, after all, facing protests of his own at the time. Less than a week later, nearly 40 per cent of Man Group shareholders rejected the company’s directors’ remuneration report.
Read more: Man oh man: Pimco poaches Man Group chief executive Manny Roman
Perhaps he only had himself to blame.
According to trade magazine Investment Europe, at a conference in 2012, Roman stated the words: “Of course hedge fund managers get paid too much [and] one cannot justify [the levels] in finance versus other jobs.”
Roman began his career at Goldman Sachs in 1987 after graduating as a master of business administration (MBA) from the University of Chicago.
After 18 years at Goldman, working in the fixed income, investment banking and capital markets areas, he went on to become co-chief executive of GLG Partners in 2005.
The firm was then acquired by Man Group in 2010 and Roman was named chief operating officer, responsible for merging the businesses.
Read more: Man Group becomes latest firm to face shareholder ire over executive pay
On 28 February 2013, he succeeded Peter Clarke as chief executive of Man Group.
In the first week of March 2013, just after Roman had started, Man Group’s share price was at around 96p – having suffered a 37 per cent year-on-year fall from 152p in March 2011.
On Wednesday, after Man Group announced his departure, its share price fell slightly to 121p.
Roman, a prominent campaigner against Brexit, will join California-based Pimco in November.