Toronto-based AGF Investments Inc. announced on Tuesday that Karrie Van Belle has been appointed as senior vice president and head of marketing and communications while Jay Bhutani has taken on the role of senior vice president and head of ETF strategy for AGF.
Van Belle will provide direction and leadership to AGF’s marketing and communications for both the retail and institutional channels, including digital marketing. She will also have overall responsibility in leading the firm’s focus on corporate branding.
“Karrie brings a wealth of experience in leading teams to drive exceptional results”, says Blake Goldring, chairman and CEO of AGF Management Ltd., in a statement. “We are thrilled to have someone with her industry background and expertise across multiple disciplines within marketing and communications.”
Van Belle has more than 15 years of experience in Canada’s asset-management industry. Most recent, she was managing director, head of Canada marketing and communications with Toronto-based BlackRock Asset Management Canada Ltd.
“I’m looking forward to this new opportunity and the chance to build on a brand with a rich history as AGF continues to grow its business, particularly as it expands its [exchange-traded fund (ETF)] strategy,” says Van Belle in a statement.
Van Belle replaces Bhutani, who was interim head of marketing and communications for AGF and will now be leading the firm’s development and distribution strategies for its ETF platform in Canada.
“I want to thank Jay for his leadership during this transition,” Goldring adds. “As he moves into this new role, he will play an integral part in launching our ETF offerings in early 2017 through QuantShare Advisor.”
“I am excited to build on AGF’s 60 years of innovation leading the launch of QuantShare Advisor,” Bhutani says in a statement. “This is an exciting new collaboration leveraging the complementary strengths of AGF’s investment professionals from Highstreet and FFCM.”
Bhutani has more than 20 years of financial services experience in asset management, product and business development. He has been with AGF for almost 10 years in senior roles, including head of product, interim head of marketing and vice president of business solutions.
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