Franklin Templeton has announced the continued expansion of its Global Client Group leadership team, appointing Elizabeth "Liz" Hogbin as Head of Global Product and Rene Buehlmann as Head of Asia Pacific. The firm also confirmed that Patrick O'Connor will transition from Head of Global ETFs to Vice Chairman of the Global Client Group.

The leadership changes are designed to build on Franklin Templeton's recent business performance and position the firm for sustained growth. For the fiscal year to date, the firm has generated $63.4 billion in net inflows, with broad-based expansion across wealth and institutional clients, asset classes, and geographic regions. The inflows come as the broader asset management industry navigates sustained fee compression and accelerating consolidation, pushing firms of Franklin Templeton's scale to compete more aggressively across product categories and geographies.

Under the leadership of Daniel Gamba, Co-President and Chief Commercial Officer, Franklin Templeton has been reshaping its Global Client Group around several strategic priorities. These include accelerating the firm's ETF business, building a more unified global product organization, deepening its footprint in Asia Pacific, expanding access to both public and private market capabilities, and strengthening its capacity to serve institutional clients worldwide. The firm's expansion into private markets and alternative strategies follows its 2020 acquisition of Legg Mason, which added specialist investment affiliates and broadened its capabilities beyond its traditional fixed income and mutual fund franchise.

The new appointments follow other recent leadership additions: Brett Mossman as Head of U.S. Product, Lyenda Delp as Head of Global Insurance and Institutional Asset Solutions, and the elevation of Kim Roy to Chief Operating Officer of the Global Client Group. Together, these changes are intended to foster greater coordination across the firm's product, distribution, institutional, and regional organizations.

"Clients increasingly want to work with fewer partners that can help them address larger and more complex needs across public and private markets and a range of investment vehicles," said Gamba. "We have been intentional about assembling a leadership team with the experience and capabilities needed to meet that demand, translate Franklin Templeton's progress into durable growth and bring the full strength of the firm to clients around the world."

"Liz, Rene and Patrick each bring expertise that is critical to where we are headed," Gamba added. "Together with the broader leadership team we have assembled, they will help us move faster, scale our most compelling opportunities and deliver a more connected One Franklin Templeton experience for clients."

Hogbin will join Franklin Templeton as Head of Global Product effective September 30, 2026. She will lead the strategy, development, positioning, and commercialization of the firm's product platform across asset classes, investment vehicles, and regions. In this newly consolidated role, her mandate will include strengthening global product governance, simplifying the platform, and embedding innovation earlier in the development pipeline. Hogbin joins from T. Rowe Price, where she led the global product organization. She previously held investment and product management positions at Wellington Management and also worked at Bain & Company and McKinsey & Company.

Buehlmann will assume the role of Head of Asia Pacific effective September 21, 2026, with responsibility for the firm's business across the entire region. He brings more than 35 years of experience spanning asset management, wealth management, and banking. Buehlmann previously served as Global Chief Executive Officer of Aberdeen Investments and spent nearly three decades at UBS, including a tenure as Head of UBS Asset Management in Asia Pacific. The Asia Pacific appointment comes as global asset managers increasingly view the region's growing investable wealth pool, particularly in markets such as Japan, Australia, and India, as a critical revenue frontier amid maturing developed-market revenues.

O'Connor, who helped build Franklin Templeton's ETF business from its inception to over $75 billion in assets under management, will transition into his new role as Vice Chairman of the Global Client Group. He will serve as a senior adviser to Gamba on investment solutions, innovation, strategy, and global franchise expansion. His initial focus will be on growing the firm's ETF capabilities across Japan, Greater China, Korea, Taiwan, and India, while also helping to strengthen Franklin Templeton's global investment solutions capabilities. The ETF expansion targets markets where passive investing adoption is still in earlier stages compared to the United States and Europe.

Collectively, these leadership appointments are intended to further equip the Global Client Group to pursue Franklin Templeton's highest-priority opportunities and deliver more integrated solutions to clients worldwide.