Legal & General Investment Manager (LGIM) has hired Micelle Scrimgeour from Columbia Threadneedle as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its investment management business.

She is currently CEO responsible for the EMEA region at Columbia Threadneedle. Her appointment follows a global search process and is subject to regulatory approval.

She will be replacing Mark Zinkula’s as CEO of LGIM. He held the position since 2011 and last year announced he would be retiring from the company in August 2019.

Mr Zinkula will be working closely with her to ensure a tidy handover before he retires from the company. Ms Scrimgeour will join the board of Legal & General Group on appointment, at which point Mr Zinkula will step down from the Legal & General Group Board.

Prior to Columbia Threadneedle she was chief risk officer at M&G Investments and a director at M&G Group. She joined M&G in 2012 from BlackRock. At BlackRock she was a member of the executive committee and led the company’s $1 trillion EMEA business.

Nigel Wilson, CEO of Legal & General, said: "I am delighted Michelle is joining us to lead the next phase of LGIM's growth both with our existing UK clients and internationally. Her successes at Columbia Threadneedle, M&G and Blackrock clearly demonstrate that she combines a capacity for managing and growing a very substantial international asset management business with a strong focus on creating sustainable and scalable operations.

“Her practical, collegiate and customer-focused approach will further bolster LGIM's unique culture, leveraging its strong synergies with the broader L&G Group, and building on the outstanding job "Zink" has done since 2011."

LGIM is one of Europe’s largest asset managers with total assets of £984.8 billion as of 31 June 2018. The company recently made a move into the high growth ETF market with the appointment of Howie Li to head up the division.