AXA Investment Managers has added John Porter as the global head of its fixed income division. He replaces Theodora Zemek.

Paris-headquartered AXA Investment Managers has added John Porter as the global head of its fixed income division. He replaces Theodora Zemek who has decided to leave the company in order to pursue other opportunities.

Based in London, Porter will become a member of AXA IM’s management board and report to chief executive Andrea Rossi.

“John will be joining us to oversee the next stage in the growth of our Fixed Income division. He has had a very diverse career and brings with him extensive experience from across the fixed income spectrum, as well as a strong understanding of the challenges facing our clients”, said Rossi.

Porter joins from Barclays where he was managing director and global head of portfolio and liquidity management. He previously served at Summit Capital Advisers as chief economist and principal performing macro-economic analysis and developing investment strategies in North America, Europe and Japan for this fixed income and currency-based hedge fund. Prior to this, he was director and principal at Moore Capital Management in Paris, as well as having spent 10 years as a senior economist and portfolio manager at the World Bank.

Under Zemek’s leadership, AXA IM’s fixed income business has grown to become a recognised industry leader with €380 billion ($514.8 billion) in assets under management globally, a statement from the firm said. As at the end of September 2013, the firm itself had approximately €536 billion in assets under management.