Bob Dorsey and Mark Seger have promoted their eventual successor. Yet the duo is still sticking around, with a more strategic focus.

Dorsey and Seger confirmed yesterday that they've promoted Ultimus Fund Solutions' chief operating officer, Gary Tenkman, to president of the Cincinnati-based mutual fund servicing shop. Tenkman still reports to Dorsey and Seger, Ultimus' co-founders, who will now serve as co-CEOs. Prior to Tenkman's promotion, Dorsey was Ultimus' sole CEO and Seger was president.

The move, Seger states, will allow him and Dorsey "to devote more time to long-term strategic iniatives."

Dorsey tells the Cincinnati Business Courier that most of his and Seger's old direct reports have over time shifted to reporting to Tenkman. Dorsey framed those moves and Tenkman's recent promotion as paving the way for Tenkman (who is in his late forties) to take over for Dorsey and Seger, eventually.

"We wanted to start thinking about succession and transition," Dorsey tells the Courier. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm only 60 and Mark is about 55. But Mark and I are not going to live forever, so we needed to start thinking about succession."

Tenkman joined Ultimus four years ago to lead its middle office outsourcing efforts for fund firms, for things like compliance, investor communications, and trading. Ultimus already did back office mutual fund work, including administration, accounting, distribution, and transfer agency.

According to a statement from Ultimus, the firm has more than doubled in size since Tenkman joined. It now has more than 170 employees serving 90 clients and more than $60 billion in assets under administration. Dorsey also tells the Courier that Tenkman "really spearheaded" Ultimus' first ever acquisition: its 2015 purchase of Columbus-based competitor Huntington Asset Services, Inc. (HASi).

An alumnus of the University of Cincinnati, Tenkman worked at Citi Fund Services (and the comparable business at Bisys, which Citi bought) and Ernst & Young. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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