T. Rowe Price's CEO to Retire

Bill Stromberg, T. Rowe Price's CEO since 2016 and chair of the board of directors since 2019, will retire at year-end 2021, when he'll become nonexecutive chair. Stromberg, 61, is sticking to the typical retirement time frame at T. Rowe Price, where managers and executives alike retire around this age. Stromberg caps a 35-year career at the firm in which he rose from analyst to portfolio manager to executive, keeping an investment-focused mindset on company initiatives as the firm also hit a new high in assets under management.

The choice of Rob Sharps as successor makes sense, and he is well suited for the role. With this change, another former portfolio manager who is likely to stay true to the firm's commitment to the end investor will lead T. Rowe Price. Sharps, who started at the firm as an analyst in 1997 and impressed as manager of T. Rowe Price Large Cap Growth TRLGX from 2001 to 2016, has been groomed for this role. He has increasingly taken on more responsibilities, going from co-head of global equity to head of investments, and has been group CIO and a member of the firm's management committee involved in working with groups across the firm.

Sharps takes over at a time of change. T. Rowe Price's investment organization will split in two in 2022's second quarter to address capacity issues, which has involved hiring additional analysts and preparing for a wall between colleagues who have long worked together. Other firmwide initiatives include launching more active exchange-traded funds, expanding environmental, social, and governance offerings, growing market presence overseas, transforming the firm's recordkeeping business, and more. He'll also oversee a COO search and adapt to new CFO Jen Dardis after CFO/COO Celine Dufetel announced she would depart for a financial technology company after less than four years in her role.

Meanwhile, the news has triggered other promotions. Eric Veiel, co-head of global equity and head of U.S. equity, will become head of global equity. Josh Nelson, associate head of U.S. equity, will succeed Veiel as head of U.S. equity.