BlackRock Head of Global Client Business Mark Wiedman attends the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit in Hong Kong on November 8, 2023.
Tyrone Siu | Reuters
Mark Wiedman, a senior BlackRock The executive with a tenure of more than 20 years is leaving the asset manager, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Wiedman, who has led the global client business for the past two years, was considered a potential successor to Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink.
Wiedman was instrumental in driving BlackRock's growth in passive investing. From 2011 to 2019, he led BlackRock's exchange-traded and index strategies as the firm's assets under management grew from $500 billion to $1.7 trillion.
He joined BlackRock in 2004 to oversee the company's emergency response to governments and financial institutions during the financial crisis.
BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager with a record $11.5 trillion in assets under management in the fourth quarter. The company made two major acquisitions last year to expand its personal lending and alternative lending divisions. In December, the financial firm agreed to buy HPS Investment Partners for $12 billion in shares as BlackRock looks to expand its presence in the wildly popular private lending space. BlackRock also acquired Global Infrastructure Partners, an infrastructure investor, for $12.5 billion last year.