John Calamos just hired an investment banker ... to take his place, not sell the firm.

John Calamos, Sr. Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Global Co-Chief Investment Officer Calamos Investments

The 75-year-old billionnaire fundster confirms that on April 4 he will pass the Calamos Investments [profile] CEO reins to John Koudonis, 50. Yet Calamos himself isn't retiring; he will remain chairman and global chief investment officer of his eponymous publicly-traded mutual fund shop.

Crain's Chicago Business and P&I both covered the news.

Koudonis hails from the investment banking and fixed income worlds. He is an alumnus of Brown and a fixed income veteran of Merrill and ABN AMRO. He most recently spent eight years as president and CEO of New York-based Mizuho Securities USA, the U.S. investment banking subsidiary of Mizuho Securities.

Calamos praises Koudonis as "a strong addition to [the Calamos] team" and "an executive with tremendous integrity, valuable global financial services experience, and a successful track record of leadership and corporate growth."

Meanwhile, bringing on Koudonis, Calamos says, will let the founder "spend more time" being global CIO.

The hiring of Koudonis comes four years after Nick Calamos (the founder's nephew) stepped down as co-CIO and two years after the fund firm unveiled Calamos Partners "as a vehicle to increase the ownership in the firm by senior executives." Then six months ago Calamos promoted distribution chief Bob Behan to president and named four co-CIOs to serve alongside Calamos himself in four different investing areas.

As of February 29, Calamos had $20.1 billion in AUM. Calamos founded the firm in 1977. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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