Citadel Taps Microsoft's Turner to Lead Securities Unit

Ken Griffin’s Citadel has hired former Microsoft COO Kevin Turner to run its Citadel Securities division. 

Turner will also become vice chairman of Citadel, according to the company. He will start on July 31.

Turner was COO for Microsoft for eleven years and was once in the running to replace Steve Ballmer at the helm of the software company. While at Microsoft, Turner oversaw some 51,000 employees and led sales and marketing for such ubiquitous products as Office and Windows. Prior to joining Microsoft, Turner was with WalMart, where he became the youngest corporate officer in the firm’s history and ended his tenure there as CEO of Sam’s Club.

"Kevin is a world-class business builder with experience managing large and complex organizations," Citadel founder and CEO Kenneth Griffin said in a statement. 

"Kevin has made a tremendous impact at Microsoft over the past 11 years," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella added in a separate statement. "I have learned a lot from Kevin over these past few years and wish him all the best as he takes on this broader CEO role."

Chicago-based Citadel is the latest large hedge fund manager to reach into the technology industry for leadership as the investment business has become increasingly reliant on complex computer systems and analysis. Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater tapped former Apple Computer executive Jon Rubenstein earlier in the year, while Two Sigma hired Google’s Alfred Spector. 

Citadel is one of the largest hedge fund managers in the world. It was founded by Griffin in 1990 with $4.6 million and subsequently built it into a global multi-strategy investment powerhouse that manages more than $24 billion in assets as of June 1. Its Citadel Securities division is a major market maker for global fixed income and equity securities.