NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ruchir Sharma, the internationally respected fund manager and influential market commentator, will join Rockefeller Capital Management, President & CEO Gregory Fleming announced today. Effective Feb. 14, Sharma will become Managing Director and Chairman, Rockefeller International, a role in which he will serve as an advisor to the firm, a resource to its Global Family Office advisors and clients, and a global brand ambassador.
Sharma also plans to form an investment company, Breakout Capital, in which Rockefeller Capital Management will be a partner. At Rockefeller Capital Management, he will report directly to Fleming and have a seat on the firm’s management committee.
“Ruchir brings not only great investing skills but additional intellectual firepower to the firm,” said Fleming. “His position reinforces our commitment to the global markets. He’ll be a great asset to our advisors, bankers and clients across businesses and borders.”
“I had the privilege of working for and with Greg for a number of years,” said Sharma. “He’s a visionary leader who attracts great talent. I’m excited by the opportunity to be part of his team once again as we build out a new uniquely Rockefeller brand on a global basis.”
Fleming said the firm looks forward to working with Sharma in the development of his new investment firm, which will build on his long experience in emerging markets.
For the past 25 years, Sharma, 47, has worked at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, most recently as Head of Emerging Markets and Chief Global Strategist. There, he managed nearly $20 billion in assets and helped launch several new products including an Emerging Leaders fund, a Frontier Markets strategy and a Special Situations fund.
Sharma is a prominent writer and author on the global economy and markets, with frequent appearances on major news channels. He was a regular contributor with The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal for many years. Sharma is currently a contributing editor at The Financial Times, where he writes a bi-weekly column. He’s the award-winning author of two global best-sellers, “The Rise and Fall of Nations” and “Breakout Nations.”
At Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Sharma managed a 40-person team based in New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Mumbai. Known for his extensive travel and on-the-ground research, he pioneered a framework of rules for identifying the emerging and developed markets most likely to underperform and outperform in coming years. That framework was captured in “Rise and Fall” and updated in his most recent book, “The 10 Rules of Successful Nations.”
Born in India, the son of a naval officer, Sharma began writing a newspaper column at age 17 for The Economic Times, India’s largest financial daily. He earned his undergraduate degree at Delhi’s Shri Ram College and was about to start graduate school in the United States when Morgan Stanley invited him to join its Asian investing team in 1996.
Throughout his career, Sharma has been recognized as an influential thinker. In 2007, the World Economic Forum selected him for its annual 100-member class of “Young Global Leaders”; in 2012, Foreign Policy magazine named him to its “Top 100 Global Thinkers,” and in 2015, Bloomberg ranked him among the world’s “50 Most Influential” people. Barron’s put Sharma on its cover as “Wall Street’s New Global Thinker” the following year.
Sharma’s other interests include a serious passion for running. He has represented India in the World Masters Championship and continues to train daily for the 100- and 200-meter sprints, regardless of where he is on the road. He says sprinting is a form of meditation and helps him be more focused and disciplined in his investment career.
