Seth Bernstein is promoting a pair of top executives in the wake of a key departure that will happen within the next few years.

James A. Gingrich AllianceBernstein Chief Operating Officer

This morning Bernstein, 57, president and CEO of AllianceBernstein [profile], confirms the recent ascensions of Kate Burke, 46, to chief administrative officer and of Karl Sprules to head of global technology and operations. Meanwhile, Bernstein also confirms that chief operating officer Jim Gingrich, 59, will retire from the firm between the end of 2020 and the end of 2022.

The leadership changes come as Bernstein and his team are beginning to shift AllianceBernstein's headquarters from New York City to Nashville. Indeed, the company's release notes that Gingrich will continue to oversee the HQ shift. Gingrich will also handle "strategy and operational execution within AB's Client Group, Private Client and Bernstein Research business units," and he'll work with Bernstein on repositioning AllianceBernstein's investment offerings.

"These changes are a testament of our commitment to fulfilling AB's long-term succession plans, while recognizing the deep bench of talent within the firm," Bernstein states. "These leadership appointments enable Kate and Karl to build upon the strong capabilities we have in our corporate functions while allowing Jim to focus his considerable abilitiers on completing the Nashville transition as well as identify and pursue areas for AB to grow."

Gingrich, an alumnus three times over of Cornell, joined the firm in 1999 after working at Booz, Allen & Hamilton. He led AllianceBernstein subsidiary Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. before rising to COO at the beginning of 2012.

Burke, an alumna of the College of the Holy Cross and of Kellogg Graduate School of Management, joined Bernstein Research in 2004 after working at A.T. Kearney. She rose to head of human capital and chief talent officer in 2016.

Sprules joined AllianceBernstein in 1997 as a software engineering manager. He rose to chief technology officer in 2012, then to global co-head of technology and operations in 2017. 

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