The chief of a 90-year-old, multinational, employee-owned, Midwestern investment bank's $74.8-billion-AUM (as of September 30, 2024), 340-employee asset management arm is preparing to say goodbye later this year, and no official successor has yet been chosen.

Stephanie Braming, partner and global head of investment management at William Blair & Company [profile], says she plans to retire from leading the Chicago-based fund firm in the fourth quarter of 2025. (Pensions & Investments initially reported on the news.) The William Blair team reveals that Brent Gledhill, president and CEO of William Blair, and Beth Satterfield, chief operating officer, are leading the search for a successor to take the throne atop William Blair Investment Management. Braming also serves as president and chair of the board for the William Blair Funds.

News of Braming's impending retirement plans comes 10 days after the William Blair revealed their 2025 class of new partners. Those 22 new partners, Braming pointed out last week, include four William Blair Investment Management portfolio managers: London-based Paul Birchenough, Baltimore-based William Heaphy, London-based Marco Ruijer, and London-based Ian Smith.

Gledhill trumpets Braming's "numerous contributions and unwavering client focus."

"Stephanie has been an instrumental leader and valued member of the firm's executive team for the past seven years," Gledhill states. "Our culture of excellence has allowed for long, successful partner careers, and we are grateful for the distinguished client service and collegial mentorship of leaders like Stephanie."

P&I quotes Braming as praising William Blair as "an extraordinary place to work," thanks to its "colleagues, culture and culture results."

"It has been a privilege to lead such a driven, dedicated and accomplished team in generating client outcomes, and I am proud of the results we have delivered together across market cycles," Braming states. "I am excited about the firm's future, and I have confidence that our talented teams will continue to drive client success for years to come."

Braming joined William Blair in 2004 as a partner and portfolio specialist, and she rose to PM in 2013 before taking over all of investment management in 2017. Earlier, she served as a principal at Mercer and as an examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. She is an alumna of the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and of DePauw University. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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