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Montreal-based Fiera Capital Corp. has named Kanesh Lakhani president and CEO of its European division, the firm announced Tuesday.

Lakhani will be responsible for the development and implementation of Fiera’s overall strategy, new initiatives, hiring, and sales and business development activity in Europe. He succeeds Jayne Sutcliffe, and will be based in London.

“I am delighted to join a firm that has ambitious plans to grow its presence and offering in Europe. Fiera Capital has a range of outstanding investment strategies and is constantly looking to improve upon and add to those,” Lakhani says in a statement. “With a fast changing investment landscape, I look forward to working with Fiera Capital’s exceptional investment teams to deepen its reach, reputation and brand over the coming years.”

Before joining Fiera, Lakhani spent seven years as managing director, EMEA and Asia distribution, at Edinburgh-based First State Investments (UK) Ltd. Prior to that, he spent almost 14 years at Boston-based State Street Global Advisors, and also held senior roles at Barclays Global Investors and Russell.

“Kanesh’s global financial experience as a senior executive at major investment firms makes him a perfect candidate to take over as the European CEO of Fiera Capital,” Vincent Duhamel, global president and chief operating officer, says in a statement. “He brings a wealth of experience and approach that complements our management team in Europe and we are delighted to welcome him.”

The appointment is subject to regulatory approval.