To many who witnessed its growth into an international money management powerhouse, State Street Global Advisors will always be regarded as the firm that longtime CEO Nicholas Lopardo built. But Timothy Harbert, Lopardo’s successor, who suffered a fatal heart attack at his Boxford, Massachusetts, home on August 24, deserves equal billing.
After Lopardo became CEO in 1987 -- SSgA then had $18 billion under management -- Harbert was one of his first hires. He rose to chief operating officer in 1992 and was instrumental in the firm’s global expansion. When Lopardo retired in August 2001, Harbert took over what was then the world’s third-biggest institutional asset manager, with $727 billion under management.
By the end of 2003 -- which Harbert called “a watershed year” -- SSgA had climbed to No. 1, with $1.1 trillion under management, leading to Harbert’s photograph gracing our July 2004 cover. During his time at the top, amid mostly difficult market conditions, assets jumped 65 percent.
Harbert had been a consultant to State Street when Lopardo brought him in full-time as head of systems and investment operations. He repeatedly and proudly boasted that “State Street is the most efficient investment management business in the world.” Harbert established the firm’s London office in 1991; by the end of 1994, he had planted SSgA’s flag in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France and Japan. Today close to 25 percent of SSgA’s assets come from non-U.S. clients, and its European business ranks 23rd in the region on a stand-alone basis.
A man of cheery disposition, good grace, patience and an extraordinary grasp of detail, Harbert seemingly could pluck performance figures, mandate wins and asset flows out of the air, despite the breadth and complexity of SSgA’s businesses. He was more than happy to admit that the firm’s core index product was dull -- because he passionately believed in it. He often remarked that thousands of pension funds around the world were misspending millions of dollars on mediocre active management.
A Bentley College graduate, Harbert served in the U.S. Navy as a supply-ship navigator between 1973 and 1976. After leaving the Navy he worked as an accountant and then a consultant at Price Waterhouse.
In a statement Ronald Logue, chief executive of parent State Street Corp., said: “Tim’s passion and energy were a driving force behind State Street Global Advisors. We have lost a friend and a colleague.” Global chief investment officer Alan Brown, whom Harbert hired in 1995, and COO Peter Leahy have been named interim co-heads of SSgA.
