T. Rowe Price's CEO to Retire

T. Rowe Price CEO, president, and chair of the firm's management committee James A.C. Kennedy will step down from those roles as of Dec. 31, 2015. Kennedy, 61, will officially retire from the firm in April 2016 after a 38-year career at T. Rowe. William Stromberg, currently head of global equity and global equity research, will succeed Kennedy.

Stromberg, 55, is a logical successor. Like Kennedy, he's had a long career at T. Rowe Price and came up through the investment division, starting as an equity analyst in 1987. He managed

Stromberg's time on the management committee, which oversees the firm's strategic direction, makes him well suited for the CEO role, as he's been involved in high-level company decisions for several years. It's also encouraging that someone with investing roots is in the CEO role, which should help the firm carry forward its long-standing tradition of looking out for investors' interests. One of his challenges will be slowing the rate of unexpected portfolio manager departures, which have occurred at a greater pace during the past two years than is typical for the firm.

The firm also announced a few other management changes. Eric Veiel will become head of U.S. equity and will join the management committee as of Jan. 1, 2016, a role previously held by John Linehan, who's preparing to become manager of

Despite the changes, it should be business as usual at T. Rowe Price. The firm has historically handled leadership transitions well, and the board had been discussing Kennedy's successor for 18 months. Meanwhile, the management committee remains long-tenured.