Alternative investment firm Permal Group has appointed Marilyn Schaja, formerly at Ivy Asset Management, to the Permal Americas sales team as senior vice president and head of US distribution channels.

Schaja, who started on 4 October, reports to Joshua Levine, head of institutional markets at Permal.

This is a new role at Permal, covering not only regional distribution, but also development of new products for the US onshore market.

Before Permal, Schaja spent nine years at Ivy where she was director of client development, managing high net worth channel client relationships.

Prior to Ivy, she was at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, where she spent 17 years, latterly as a senior economist.

Levine says: “This is a new role and shows our commitment to the US onshore market. We are seeing considerable traction in this area. Marilyn is ideally qualified for this role - she has a proven asset-raising track record, has already managed a broad range of relationships at Ivy and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, and has valuable in-depth knowledge of alternative investment products and strategies. She is an excellent fit within our team and we are very pleased to have her on board.”

Schaja adds: “Permal is a leading name in the alternatives sector. Helping to develop the business into the US market is a very exciting proposition.”