Joe Sullivan is bringing in an ex-AllianceBernstein C-suiter for a key, newly created role. Meanwhile, Seth Bernstein is promoting two other AB C-suiters.

Kate C. Burke Allspring Global Investments Incoming President and Board Member

Today, Sullivan, chair and CEO of Allspring Global Investments [profile], confirms that Kate Burke will join the private equity-backed mutual fund firm's senior leadership team and board of directors in September. Nashville-based Burke will serve as the Charlotte, North Carolina-based asset manager's first ever president, reporting to Sullivan.

Karl Sprules AllianceBernstein Chief Operating Officer

Burke most recently served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer as Nashville-based AB [profile] before resigning from the publicly traded company on Wednesday, according to AB filing with the SEC. Per the filing, this week Bernstein appointed a pair of successors to fill Burke's shoes: Karl Sprules, head of global technology and operations, added the role of COO; and Bill Siemers, controller and chief accounting officer, added the role of interim CFO.

William R. "Bill" Siemers AllianceBernstein Interim Chief Financial Officer, Controller, Chief Accounting Officer

At Allspring, Sullivan lauds Burke as "an extraordinary leader" and frames the hiring as part of his broader effort "to attract experienced leaders to help ... accelerate [Allspring's] transformation as a standalone firm."

"We believe her deep knowledge of the asset management business and focus on delivering an exceptional client and employee experience will propel Allspring forward into our next phase of growth," Sullivan states.

Burke is slated to join Allspring less than two years after the firm rebranded and spun off from a money center bank via a $2.1-billion deal in November 2021, a deal that also involved the addition of Sullivan as Allspring's chief. The Allspring team describes Burke's appointment as "another important milestone" in the firm's journey.

"As newly independent firm, Allspring has already established itself as a leader in the industry with innovative solutions, strong investment performance, and exceptional client service," Burke states. "I have been impressed by the caliber of the people and the investment platform and I am looking forward to joining Allspring at such a unique point in the firm's evolution."

Burke joined Bernstein Research in 2004, and she later served as head of Bernstein Private Wealth and as AB's head of human capital and chief talent officer. She rose to chief administrative officer in 2019, to COO in 2020, and added the CFO hat last year. Earlier, Burke worked with A.T. Kearney. She is an alumna of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and of the College of the Holy Cross.

Sprules joined AB 25 years ago in software engineering. He rose into various technology leadership roles, eventually becoming chief technology for the whole firm in 2012. He took over as head of technology and operations in 2019.

Siemers joined AB in 2004, serving as director of financial reporting before rising to controller and chief accounting officer in 2018. He also briefly served as inferim CFO once before, last year. Earlier, he spent more than 13 years in finance at Altria and worked at Deloitte for more than eight years. He is an alumnus of Fairfield University. 

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