Polar Capital, a specialist asset management group, made two senior hires to its North American sales team. Rudy Garza joined the company in January as a director of business development covering the West Coast, while Florbela Mendez joined the company in March as vice president of business development at Phaeacian Partners, a joint venture with Polar Capital.
“We are very pleased to welcome Rudy to Polar Capital and Florbela to Phaeacian Partners, both of whom will help us develop our profile and business proposition in the U.S., providing us with an enormous opportunity to offer our funds to the institutional community,” Gavin Rochussen, CEO of Polar Capital, said.
Garza joined Polar Capital after seven years at Royce Investment Partners, a specialist in global small-cap equity strategies, where he managed client service and business development. Garza has more than 21 years of experience in asset management distribution, with a particular focus on institutional asset management and wealth management. Previously, Garza also worked for PIMCO, Legg Mason and Wilshire Associates.
At Polar Capital, Garza will work with Alastair Barrie in the development of Polar Capital’s North American business. Initially, their primary focus will be on the Phaeacian Partners International Value strategy and on Polar Capital’s Emerging Market Stars strategy, which launched in December as a U.S. mutual fund.
“When I was looking for a new challenge, it became clear that Polar Capital would provide a really interesting opportunity,” Garza said. “The business has a clear vision for what it wants to achieve and I am thrilled to be joining. I look forward to working alongside Gavin, Alastair and the wider sales team to support their vision for driving business into the U.S.”
Mendez joined Phaeacian Partners after 11 years at International Value Advisers, an investment management company offering services to institutions, high-net-worth individuals and financial intermediaries, where she was regional director for the eastern division. Prior to that, she was international product manager at Morgan Stanley.
Mendez will support Phaeacian Partners in developing the business with new and existing clients.
“I am excited to join Phaeacian Partners and be a part of the wider Polar Capital team,” Mendez said. “I look forward to helping to grow the Phaeacian Partners business among clients I have worked with for more than a decade who are always looking for top-performing, well-established and long-term international and global equity investment propositions.”
