A top BlackRock exec was fired after having a relationship with a subordinate

BlackRock

Mark Wiseman

• One of BlackRock's top execs, who was touted to take the top job from CEO Larry Fink, was fired for failing to disclose a consensual relationship with a fellow employee.
• The Wall Street Journal reported Wiseman, head of active equities and chair of alternatives, was fired for failing to comply with company policy.
• "I engaged in a consensual relationship with one of our colleagues without reporting it," Wiseman said in a firm memo Thursday, seen by the Journal. "I regret my mistake and I accept responsibility for my actions," he added.
• Wiseman's firing is the second high-profile termination this year for BlackRock.
• View Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

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One of BlackRock's top execs, who was touted to take the top job when CEO Larry Fink retires, was fired for failing to disclose a consensual relationship with a fellow employee, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Mark Wiseman who was head of active equities and chair of alternatives, was fired for failing to comply with company policy.

According to the Journal, Wiseman's firing "marks a swift fall for the man who was the face of the roughly $7 trillion indexing giant's ambitions to find new reach outside funds that track markets."

"I engaged in a consensual relationship with one of our colleagues without reporting it," Wiseman said in a firm memo Thursday, seen by the Journal. "I regret my mistake and I accept responsibility for my actions," he added.

Wiseman prior to BlackRock, was president and CEO of the $368 billion Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board until 2012, working there for seven years. His wife, Marcia Moffat who is currently the head of BlackRock Canada. The Journal added that Moffat who and Wiseman were seen as a power couple at the world's largest asset manager.

Wiseman's firing is the second high profile termination this year for BlackRock. Former human resources head Jeffrey Smith left the firm after failing to comply with company policy, though it was not disclosed what policy he broke.

BlackRock did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Elsewhere this year BlackRock beat earnings in its latest report in October. The asset manager saw its total assets climb to about $7 trillion in the third quarter - an 8% increase year on year.

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