With Tim Buckley retiring from the position of Vanguard CEO at the end of the year, the question remains who is most likely to succeed him, considering that Malvern company did not immediately name his replacement, writes Jeff Blumenthal for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Dan Sotiroff, senior manager research analyst at Morningstar Research Services, reached out to the company regarding the issue following the announcement.

“The response I got was, ‘It would be irresponsible of us not to consider an external candidate,’” he said. “But in the back of my mind, I’m thinking, but you set up this succession program. What’s the point of that then?”

So far, each of the three CEOs who succeeded Vanguard’s founder Jack Bogle have been internal candidates.

Currently, Vanguard has several potential candidates who could be considered as the company’s next chief executive.

Chief Investment Officer Gregory Davis is one of the top candidates. He succeeded Buckley as CIO seven years ago when the latter was promoted to CEO. Other potential candidates are Karin Risi, managing director of strategy, product, marketing, and communications, and Chris McIsaac, managing director of the company’s international division.

Read more about who will be chosen for the next CEO at Vanguard in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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