Roque Calleja will move to New York next April, as Head of BlackRock Alternative Specialists (BAS) for Latin America. In this role he will work closely with Sara Litt, who has been a member of the BAS Latin America team since 2016 and will report to Armando Senra, Head of Latin America at BlackRock.
In his new position, Calleja will be responsible for strategy and fundraising for BlackRock’s alternatives platform working closely with Latin American institutional and wealth clients across hedge funds, private equity, real assets and private credit.
Calleja has worked for BlackRock in Mexico since 2014, first as vice president and since 2017 he has been co-director of the Institutional Business together with Giovanni Onate, who will lead the business individually when Calleja leaves. According to an internal memo to which Funds Society had access, “During this time, BlackRock has become the leading asset manager for active mandates in Mexico and one of the leading asset managers for local and international alternative investments… This appointment reflects BlackRock’s continued focus on alternatives as a strategic growth area and the growing demand from clients across the region for alternative assets.”
Serna added: “Latin American clients are increasingly relying on alternative investments as a critical component of their asset allocation in order to build resilient, diversified portfolios that can enhance long-term returns. BlackRock’s alternatives platform offers clients unparalleled breadth across alternatives asset classes, a global footprint, and robust sourcing capabilities, which combined with our risk management platform positions us well to deliver to clients best in class alternatives solutions.”
Calleja joined BlackRock in 2009 as a member of BlackRock’s iShares business in Iberia. He later moved to New York where he supported BlackRock’s Latin America and Iberia business and was responsible for managing the retail offshore wealth business. He has a BA degree in business administration and a Master’s degree in Business Strategy from the Francisco de Vitoria university in Madrid, Spain. He also holds a master’s degree in alternative investments and Hedge Funds by the Instituto de Estudios Bursatiles (IEB) university in Madrid.
BlackRock’s alternatives platform currently manages over $172 billion in client assets and comprises a global team of over 800 investment professionals sourcing and structuring both direct and fund investments.