PIMCO, the California-headquartered investment manager, has recruited Maria Gordon from Goldman Sachs Asset Management to lead its emerging markets equity team in London.

Gordon takes up the role of executive vice president and emerging market equity portfolio manager at PIMCO in October, having amassed twelve years of investment management experience, most of which was at Goldmans. She was most recently a managing director, portfolio manager and head of global emerging markets equity strategy at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, serving as lead portfolio manager for the firm’s emerging markets equity fund from 2003 and as co-lead portfolio manager for its BRIC fund from 2006. Additionally, between 2004 and 2008 she was also responsible for emerging markets stock selection for the Goldman Sachs Strategic International Equity Fund.

“PIMCO plans to launch several active equity strategies in the next couple of years. Following the successful launch of PIMCO Pathfinder – a deep value strategy - emerging markets will be our next active equity strategy,” said Neel Kashkari, managing director and head of new investment initiatives, adding that PIMCO will continue to recruit through this year and into next as it builds out its active equity platform.

In another recent senior appointment, earlier this month Ki Myung Hong was named as a managing director and head of PIMCO’s Asia Pacific region, based in Hong Kong.

Hong, who was latterly with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, now oversees Pimco's Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo offices, reporting to Douglas Hodge, Pimco's chief operating officer (who previously served as head of Asia Pacific).