Oaktree Capital Chooses Jay Wintrob as C.E.O.

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Jay WintrobCredit Oaktree Capital Group

Updated, 3:08 p.m. |
The Oaktree Capital Group announced a reshuffling of its senior leadership on Monday, including the appointment of Jay Wintrob as chief executive.

Mr. Wintrob, who has been an outside director of Oaktree since 2011 and who ran the American International Group’s life and retirement division until leaving last month, will be the first chief executive in the history of Oaktree, an alternative investment giant based in Los Angeles.

In addition, Bruce Karsh, the firm’s president, will become co-chairman alongside Howard Marks, who started Oaktree with him in 1995. Mr. Karsh will remain chief investment officer.

And John Frank, Oaktree’s managing principal, will become vice chairman, the firm said. While Mr. Frank’s role had included the day-to-day administration of the firm, those functions will now go to Mr. Wintrob while Mr. Frank will focus more on developing relationships with investors and business partners, Oaktree said.

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Bruce Karsh, front, will become co-chairman of Oaktree Capital alongside Howard Marks.Credit Jennifer S. Altman for The New York Times

The moves reflect Oaktree’s increased scale and complexity, Mr. Marks said in an interview. The firm is now a giant in the business of distressed debt, managing $91.1 billion in assets as of June 30. And with a constituency of stock market investors — Oaktree went public in 2012 — the firm’s days as a scrappy upstart are long gone.

“When a business reaches a certain size, complexity and breadth, it needs professional management,” Mr. Marks said. “It’s really a question of the stages of life.”

Oaktree, a specialist in buying unloved assets at bargain prices, faces a difficult investing environment, with many assets trading at lofty valuations. The firm made billions after loading up on distressed debt during the financial crisis, and it returned cash to its investors even as it raised additional capital. Now, according to Bloomberg News, Oaktree is seeking $10 billion for a new fund, the bulk of which it plans to deploy only when markets falter.

Mr. Wintrob, a 27-year veteran of A.I.G. and a predecessor company, SunAmerica, joined Oaktree’s board in September 2011 to assist with the firm’s transition to being a publicly traded company. He first met Mr. Karsh in the 1980s when both men worked at O’Melveny & Myers, a Los Angeles law firm. He came to A.I.G. through its acquisition of SunAmerica in 1998.

At A.I.G., Mr. Wintrob was under consideration this year to succeed Robert Benmosche as chief executive. But the top job went instead to Peter Hancock, who ran the company’s property casualty business. Mr. Wintrob left A.I.G. after Mr. Hancock took over in September.

His departure caught Oaktree’s attention.

“A light bulb went off,” Mr. Marks said. “We said, ‘It’s hard to believe, but maybe we could get him.’”

Mr. Wintrob starts on Nov. 1.