Man Group appoints first female CEO in 240 years

The world's largest publicly listed hedge fund firm's new chief executive officer will be Robyn Grew, 54, who will replace Luke Ellis, 60, on Sept. 1. Originally from the US, Grew joined Man Group as its president in 2009 and will continue to live there.

Following the appointment of Anne Wade as the firm's first female chairman to replace John Cryan, who will retire in 2023, the decision was made.

Women make up only 21.3% of employees at hedge funds and other alternative investment firms worldwide, according to a Preqin report published in March. Only 13.6% of senior positions are held by women, and 10.3% of board members are women, according to the data provider.

Several pockets of the industry have made progress. Founder Mala Gaonkar's SurgoCap Partners has $1.8 billion under management, making it the largest hedge fund debut ever for a woman.

James Man founded Man Group in 1783 as a barrel maker-brokerage on Harp Lane, about 500 meters away from its current office along the Thames. In the next two centuries, it supplied rum to the Royal Navy and traded commodities like coffee and sugar before concentrating on financial services.

Prior to joining the firm in 2009, Grew held senior positions at Barclays Plc and Lehman Brothers, as well as at LIFFE, the largest futures and options exchange in London - since renamed ICE Futures Europe.