Alternative asset manager Permal Group has made three new senior hires: Terrence Purcell, EVP, Portfolio Management; Robert Discolo as EVP, Investments; and Marc Blieden, EVP, Chief Risk Officer. 

Each of the positions is a new role and is central to the firm’s strategic aim of building out its Investment and Risk platforms.
 
Purcell, who joined on 20 July, manages the Group’s customised investment solutions for institutional clients, with a particular focus on non-US clients, and oversees the Investment Strategy group.  He was previously at the State of Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, where he was Principal Investment Officer at the USD30 billion state plan, responsible for overseeing Alternative Investments (including hedge funds and real assets) and Private Equity.
 
Discolo joined on 1 July and coordinates the 33-strong asset management team, along with various investment processes, working alongside the Chief Investment Officers, and is charged with increasing proprietary research capabilities. He was previously Managing Director and Head of Hedge Fund Solutions Group at Pinebridge, where he spent 14 years, with responsibility for managing proprietary and client assets in hedge funds and other alternative asset classes, having also implemented their risk and portfolio management systems. 
 
Blieden, who also joined on 1 July, is the Group’s Chief Risk Officer, covering Investment Risk, Operational Risk and Enterprise Risk. He was previously at FRM (Man Group) as their Chief Risk Officer, where he developed and managed all aspects of risk management for the FRM business, ranging from the organisation, portfolios to the underlying investments.
 
Omar Kodmani (pictured), Chief Executive Officer, Permal Group, says: “Each of these names is well known in our industry and are excellent additions to the Permal team, as well as being a firm statement of intent on our part. These enhance our capabilities in a number of ways, including broader execution of key strategies, helping us to grow our customised business for institutional clients and liquid alternatives for retail, and the development of our proprietary research. With customisation a core requirement for many clients, as well as further developments in the more liquid space, today you need far deeper structures, across the business, and we strongly believe that we are well positioned to continue taking a lead.”