NEW YORK, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Merrill Lynch today announced the
appointment of Byron Vielehr, a recognized expert in asset-management
technology, as Global Head of E-Business for Merrill Lynch's Asset Management
Group (AMG).
Mr. Vielehr, 35, joins Merrill Lynch from Strong Funds in Milwaukee, where
as Vice President of Electronic Commerce he developed a state-of-the-art
Internet presence for Strong's mutual fund business.
In his new role, Mr. Vielehr will oversee all electronic activities in the
AMG, focusing primarily on enhancing the group's Internet capabilities,
including e-sales, e-marketing, e-manufacturing, e-service and providing
e-business consulting services to AMG's mainline businesses. A separate
entity charged with expanding e-business within the AMG will be created to
harness and develop these capabilities.
"We intend to create nothing less than the global asset management company
of the new millennium at Merrill Lynch, and Byron is the ideal professional to
help us achieve that goal," said Jeffrey M. Peek, Executive Vice President and
President of the AMG. "With his exceptional expertise and experience in this
area, Byron will lead our effort to leverage technology as we seek to provide
investors worldwide with the best asset management products and services
anywhere in the world."
Mr. Vielehr will report to Mr. Peek and the AMG Executive Committee.
"By fully leveraging its cutting-edge technology platform, I believe
Merrill Lynch is ideally positioned to provide clients with all the tools
necessary for investing in the 21st century," said Mr. Vielehr. "I am very
excited to be joining the Asset Management Group at such a critical stage in
the development of its e-business initiatives worldwide."
In recent years, Strong Online has been widely recognized within the
industry, being named, for example, "Best Mutual Fund Web Site" by Sage-AOL;
"Best Retirement Planning Site" by Mutual Funds Magazine; and No. 1 site for
Information, Customer Service and Design by McGladrey & Pullen. Recently, Mr.
Vielehr was named a Fund Titan of 1999 by Ignites.com, a web site devoted to
the mutual fund industry.
Prior to joining Strong Funds in 1997, Mr. Viehler worked for AAL Capital
Management Corp. for five years and before that with Systems and Software
Technology Inc. for four years. He graduated from Drexel University in 1988
with a degree in finance and marketing and received his Masters of Business
Administration from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of
Business in 1998.
The Merrill Lynch AMG's e-initiatives will complement those throughout the
firm, some of which include the U.S. Private Client Group's Merrill Lynch
Online and Merrill Lynch Direct, as well as the Corporate and Institutional
Client Group's Direct Markets.
Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and
advisory companies with offices in 44 countries and total client assets
exceeding $1.7 trillion. Through AMG, the company is one of the world's
largest managers of financial assets, totaling approximately $557 billion. As
an investment bank, Merrill Lynch is the top global underwriter and market
maker of debt and equity securities and a leading strategic advisor to
corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide.
SOURCE Merrill Lynch
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