May 11—Thornburg Investment Management President and CEO Jason Brady announced his pending resignation May 5 after 17 years with the company, just ahead of jury selection in a lawsuit from a former employee who says he was fired after complaining Brady promoted a romantic partner.
Brady, who has been CEO for 6 1/2 years, intends to step down later in the year as president, CEO, portfolio manager and from the company's Board of Directors as he departs the Santa Fe-based global investment firm. But for now he will continue in these positions "to allow for [a] smooth transition" to a successor, said Michael Corrao, Thornburg's director of global communications.
"This is the appropriate time for a new leader to step in," Brady said in a news release.
"Since joining Thornburg in 2006, I am proud of what we have achieved, particularly the strength of the team we have developed, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve as the firm's president and CEO for nearly eight years," Brady said in the release.
No plans were announced for Brady.
"Jason feels the time is right to pass the baton to a new leader," Corrao said in an interview. "His objective is to see the transition through to a successor."
Jury selection is scheduled for May 22 on a lawsuit by former employee Troy Statczar against several Thornburg executives with the trial set for May 30 to June 6, according to First Judicial District Court records.
Statczar, a former Thornburg fund administrator, in the November 2019 lawsuit accuses Brady of promoting subordinate Erin Carney, today the head of strategic development and managing director at Thornburg, because of an affair between the two and that he was fired after reporting sexual favoritism to human resources.
The lawsuit names as defendants Brady, Thornburg Chairman Garrett Thornburg, Chief Financial Officer Nimish Bhatt and human resources director Dana Jones.
Corrao declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Brady joined Thornburg in 2006 as a portfolio manager overseeing investment funds. Before that, he had brief stints at Fortis Investments, Fidelity Investments and Lehman Brothers.
In his early years at Thornburg, Brady was head of the fixed-income investment division, which as CEO he grew to $14 billion in assets within the overall $42 billion in assets managed by Thornburg, Corrao said.
As CEO, Brady opened Thornburg offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai — the only other Thornburg offices outside of Santa Fe.
"He grew the organization and the roster of investment solutions," Corrao said. "He diversified our business across investment strategies."