BlackRock, the US asset manager part-owned by Merrill Lynch, has appointed Daniel Sontag, president of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, to its board of directors.

Mr Sontag fills the remaining board seat left vacant by the resignations of John Thain and Gregory Fleming, Merrill’s former chief executive and president respectively; Brian Moynihan, president of Global Banking and Wealth Management for Bank of America, was previously selected to fill the other seat.

Under the terms of BlackRock’s stockholder agreement with Merrill Lynch, Merrill may designate two directors to BlackRock’s board. Bank of America completed its acquisition of Merrill Lynch in January this year.

"We have had the opportunity to work closely with Dan over the years and appreciate his vision and leadership in global wealth management. His insights on serving individual investors throughout the world will be of great value as we continue to build BlackRock's global retail capabilities," said Laurence Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock.

Prior to taking up leadership of Merrill Lynch global wealth management, Mr Sontag was head of the firm’s Americas wealth management operations. Before that he led the Americas client relationship group, overseeing Merrill’s private banking and investment offices across the US and Latin America.

BlackRock had $1.307 trillion in assets under management as at 31 December 2008. The firm, which is headquartered in New York, has employees in 22 countries.