Change At The Top Of Northern Trust

Robbie Lawther

18 October 2017

Financial services firm Northern Trust has appointed current president Michael O'Grady as chief executive, effective January 1.

Chairman and current CEO Frederick Waddell will be retiring from his role as CEO on January 1. Waddell will stay on as chairman of the board, a position he has held since November 2009.

As president of Northern Trust Corporation, a role he has held since January 1, 2017, O’Grady oversees the wealth management, corporate & institutional services and asset management businesses. Before joining Northern Trust in 2011, O’Grady served as a managing director in the financial institutions investment banking group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“It has been my privilege to serve as chief executive for the past decade and to be a part of Northern Trust for 42 years,” Waddell said. “I leave this role with great pride. Our leadership team is world-class, our strategies are poised for even greater growth and our financial performance is strong.Today’s announcement is the result of a robust and deliberate succession planning process undertaken by our board of directors. Mike is an experienced, results-oriented leader respected by clients, shareholders, employees and the communities we serve. The board and I are deeply confident in his ability to lead Northern Trust and, as chairman, and I look forward to continuing to work with Mike.”

This publication recently reported that Northern Trust had appointed Roberta Ruddy as vice president and international relationship manager, for its San Diego, California office. The firm has been recruiting heavily over the past few weeks across the world.