Legg Mason chairman and chief executive Mark Fetting has made the decision to step down after five years in the top job.
During his tenure, he led the company through a challenging period for global financial markets, reducing the firm's cost structure and improving its liquidity, Legg Mason stated.
Joseph Sullivan has been appointed interim chief executive and Allen Reed – Legg Mason's lead independent director – will assume the non-executive chairman role while the board searches for Fetting's replacement.
Fetting's departure does not change the company's current "corporate structure or our relationships with its affiliates", Legg Mason stated.
