BlackRock Hires Former ATP Head to Lead Nordic Region

BlackRock has hired Christian Hyldahl, the former chief executive officer of Denmark’s largest pension fund ATP, as country head of the Nordic region.

Hyldahl will begin his new role on October 21, according to a BlackRock statement Wednesday. Lena Lundholm-Micko will remain head of BlackRock’s Nordic institutional business while passing on her country head duties to Hyldahl.

“He is highly respected by clients and other stakeholders in the Nordic region and across Europe,” said Rachel Lord, head of BlackRock’s EMEA business, in the statement. “He brings deep industry knowledge and expertise, and a particular interest in sustainable investing, which is a key priority for our clients.”

BlackRock, which had $6.84 trillion in assets under management at the end of June, has been tapping major public pension funds as a source of new hires in recent years. In 2016, the firm hiredMark Wiseman, the former president and chief executive officer of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, as its global head of active equities.

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Hyldahl was CEO of ATP for two years until December, according to hisLinkedInbio. Before working at ATP, Hyldahl had spent almost two decades at Nordea Asset Management, where his senior roles included CEO and chief investment officer, according to BlackRock’s statement.

“I have carefully considered my next step over the last 10 months and I am excited to join a firm with the global impact and outright industry leadership of BlackRock,” Hyldahl said in the statement.

In another example of BlackRock turning to the pension world for talent, the firm last year hired Mirjam Staub-Bisang as country manager of Switzerland.Staub-Bisangcontinues to serve as the chairman of the board at Profond Pension Fund, a Swiss multiemployer pension fund, according to her LinkedIn profile.