Ex-IXIS exec Witkos goes to Eaton Vance; Martin, Guinamant step up at IXIS. Matthew Witkos, former head of distribution at IXIS Asset Management Global Associates, has been named president of Eaton Vance 's distribution arm. In that role he will direct the Boston-based asset manager's retail distribution efforts in the U.S. and abroad.

Eaton Vance and IXIS are fairly major players in mutual funds, separately managed accounts and indexed investments.

Witkos has replaced Wharton Whitaker, who died in February. He will report to Eaton Vance president and CIO Thomas Faust Jr.

"Matt is a talented sales and marketing executive with wide-ranging experience and a demonstrated record of success in the investment management industry," says Faust. "I am confident that under his direction [Eaton Vance] can sustain its strong growth record and move to an even higher level of performance in the years ahead."

Into the breech

Before he joined IXIS in 2001, Witkos was national sales manager at Denver-based Forward Asset Management. Prior to that, he was a co-head of sales at GE Asset Management.

Witkos says he's long admired Eaton Vance, particularly in terms of "the strength of its business franchise and its reputation for integrity and innovation."

Paris-based IXIS meanwhile has put Peter Martin in charge asset-management distribution in the Americas. Hervé Guinamant has stepped into an analogous position for distribution in the rest of the world.

Martin, formerly head of IXIS wealth-products unit, is based in Boston. Guinamant, Formerly responsible for distribution in Europe alone, is based in Paris. They report to IXIS Asset Management Global Associates CEO John Hailer, who is based in Boston.

"We are fortunate to have the depth of talent within our organization to provide the leadership needed to succeed on a global scale," says Hailer. "Peter and Hervé bring considerable experience to our global distribution efforts."

IXIS Asset Management Global Associates is the main distribution organization for IXIS Asset Management Group, which is part of Paris-based Natixis -- a financial institution born in 2006 of the merger of Groupe Banque Populaire and Groupe Caisses d'Epargne. IXIS managed $616.6 billion at the end of 2006.

Eaton Vance managed $150 billion at the end of April 2007. -FWR

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