El-Erian Leaves Harvard and Returns to PIMCO

Newport Beach, California–based PIMCO announced Tuesday that the former head of Harvard University’s endowment is returning to help run the Golden State money manager.

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.

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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.

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