El-Erian Leaves Harvard and Returns to PIMCO

A PIMCO news release said Mohamed El-Erian, its former Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, will return in January 2008 in a newly created position as Managing Director and Co-CEO and Co-CIO.

In his new position, El-Erian will join CEO Bill Thompson and Chief Investment Officer and company founder Bill Gross, as a member of PIMCO’s senior management team.

El-Erian, 49, comes back to the firm from the Harvard Management Company (HMC), where he has been President and CEO since October 2005. Before joining HMC, El-Erian had worked at PIMCO for seven years, the company said.

“The demands and complexities of our current positions suggest that the addition of a unique talent such as Mohamed’s will enhance both of our contributions going forward.” Thompson said of himself and Gross.