William Priest to Step Down as CEO in 2020, Will Remain at Firm as Executive Chairman and Co-CIO

Epoch Investment Partners, Inc., today announced that William Priest will step down as the firm's CEO effective April 1, 2020. He will become Epoch's Executive Chairman and will continue to lead the investment team and serve as co-CIO. He will also retain his portfolio management responsibilities, including his lead portfolio manager role with Epoch's Global Choice and Global Absolute Return strategies.

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Philipp Hensler (Photo: Business Wire)

Philipp Hensler, Epoch's President and COO, will become the firm's CEO. Hensler brings to the role extensive leadership experience at asset management firms globally. His earlier background as a portfolio manager has imbued him with an investment-oriented perspective that aligns with Epoch's investment-centric culture.

“Investing remains my lifelong passion," said Priest, who helped found Epoch in 2004. “Best practice suggests a separation between the 'business of investing' and the 'business of the investment business.' This evolution of duties will allow me to focus solely on the former function. I will continue to lead the investment team and focus on our clients' portfolios.”

Hensler stated, "I am thrilled to help lead Epoch in the next chapter of its growth. Since joining Epoch, I’ve had an opportunity to work very closely with Bill and look forward to further strengthening that partnership. The industry is changing at a pace that we’ve never seen before, and Epoch is well-positioned for the opportunities this is creating."

Epoch is an asset management firm that provides global and regional equity strategies for institutional and intermediary clients worldwide. Epoch’s investment approach is based on fundamental research and seeks to invest in companies that can grow free cash flow and allocate it effectively for the benefit of shareholders. Epoch’s culture is investment led, collaborative and designed to help clients achieve their investment objectives. Epoch was formed in 2004 and is the steward of $37 billion in client assets under management as of June 30, 2019. More information on Epoch can be found at www.eipny.com.

Biographies:

WILLIAM W. PRIEST, CFA

Bill is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Epoch Investment Partners. He is a portfolio manager for Epoch’s global equity investment strategies and leads the Investment Policy Group, a forum for analyzing broader secular and cyclical trends that Epoch believes will influence investment opportunities. Prior to co-founding Epoch in 2004, Bill was a Co-Managing Partner and portfolio manager at Steinberg Priest & Sloane Capital Management, LLC for three years. Before forming Steinberg Priest, he was a member of the Global Executive Committee of Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse Asset Management Americas and CEO and portfolio manager of its predecessor firm BEA Associates, which he co-founded in 1972. During his 30-year tenure at BEA and CSAM, he developed the firm into a well-recognized investment manager with over $100 billion under management.

Bill is the author of several published articles and papers on investing and finance, including the books, The Financial Reality of Pension Funding Under ERISA, Free Cash Flow and Shareholder Yield: New Priorities for the Global Investor, and the more recent Winning at Active Management: The Essential Roles of Culture, Philosophy and Technology (with co-authors Steven Bleiberg and Michael Welhoelter). He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, is a former CPA and a graduate of Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

PHILIPP HENSLER

Philipp is President and Chief Operating Officer of Epoch Investment Partners. Prior to joining Epoch in 2018, Philipp was the President and CEO of Vontobel Asset Management Inc. Before joining Vontobel, Philipp was the Head of Distribution for Oppenheimer Funds. He also spent over a decade at Deutsche Asset Management / DWS, where he held numerous leadership roles in the United States and Switzerland, including CEO of the New York based distribution arm. Earlier in his career, Philipp was a Fund Manager at Coutts Bank and also worked at Rothschild Bank. He holds an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, a D.M. from Case Western University and a degree in Business Administration from the Zurich School of Management.

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