Symbiotics SA, the leading market access platform in impact investing, today announced the appointment of Théodore Economou to the position of head of Asset Management. Théodore will lead a consolidated asset management function within Symbiotics that will regroup client management, product management, portfolio management, and risk management. His appointment follows a decision taken last spring by the head of Portfolio Management, Valerie Dujardin, to move into a governance position within the firm and to push her career into a new phase.
“Théodore has the combination of global investment management expertise, leadership skills, and experience on both the asset-owner and the asset manager side to help us continue to provide an edge to our clients. His proven strategic and management skills will support extending Symbiotics’s leadership in impact investing,” said Roland Dominicé, CEO, to whom he will report. “I also want to thank Valérie for her tremendously valuable contribution in more than 10 years of service, during which she proved a key factor of success for the firm.”
Théodore Economou said: “Symbiotics’ global footprint, its proven track record in advising clients and in managing assets, combined with its highly skilled and dedicated team provide an exceptional platform to serve clients looking for an increased exposure to impactful assets, and to drive growth. I am excited to join Symbiotics as the organization evolves to realize its full potential in impact investing.”
Valérie Dujardin said: “I look back at 10 years of exciting personal and professional development and wonderful interaction with clients and colleagues. I am truly proud and thankful of having been part of the Symbiotics venture, seeing it blossom from a pure brokerage and advisory platform at inception to a multi-service impact investing platform today serving clients globally. I look forward to pursuing my involvement with the firm in a governance role and remaining part of the growing impact investing industry.”
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About Théodore Economou
Théodore joins Symbiotics from Lombard Odier Investment Managers, which he had joined in 2015 as CIO of the Multi-Asset Group. Prior to that he served as CEO and CIO of the CERN Pension Fund, for which he had received the “CIO of the year 2014” award by Institutional Investor, and was selected as one of the “top 5 European CIOs” at the 2014 IPE Awards. He has chaired the investment committee of the Lombard Odier Pension Fund since 2014, and is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of the Virginia Retirement System, Virginia, USA since 2012. Théodore started his career in management consulting at Accenture in Zurich and in corporate finance at ITT Corporation in New York. He holds a diploma in mechanical engineering from the Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Switzerland, and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and is a CFA Charterholder.
About Valérie Dujardin
Valérie Dujardin joined the firm nearly at inception, in 2006, growing the business in its launch phase with the founders and successfully running the investment advisory services over a five year-period, managing operational relationships and mandate deployments with the anchor clientele: C-Quadrat, Finethic, KfW and responsAbility. After a couple years abroad in North America, she returned in a product and business development position eventually heading the portfolio management division, successfully growing and managing a function serving today more than 20 private and blended (public private ownership) emerging impact debt funds with portfolio advisory and portfolio management services.
About Symbiotics
Symbiotics is the leading market access platform for impact investing, dedicated to financing micro- small and medium enterprises and low- and middle-income households in emerging and frontier markets. Since 2005, Symbiotics has structured and originated some 4,000 deals for over 450 companies in almost 90 emerging and frontier markets representing more than USD 5.5 billion. These investments have been purchased by more than 25 fund mandates and more than 50 third party specialized fund managers, forming a growing ecosystem and marketplace for such transactions. symbioticsgroup.com
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For more information, contact:
Samy Derradji, Symbiotics, Corporate Communication Manager
samy.derradji@symbioticsgroup.com
