Aberdeen shake-up sees six senior staff axed

Katherine Garrett-Cox, Aberdeen Asset Management's 34-year-old chief investment officer, has axed six senior colleagues less than two months after returning from maternity leave.

The move is the first major shake-up by Ms Garrett-Cox following her promotion last February. Since then Aberdeen's funds have slumped 17 per cent, making the group the worst performer among the UK's ten largest fund managers.

Ms Garrett-Cox, who was off work between June and November following the birth of her second child, said the departure of four top fund managers and two other staff were not cost-cutting but a "reinvigoration" of the business. Further restructuring could not be ruled out.

"I have always been concerned to ensure that the right people are in the right jobs. Maternity leave made it easier for things to crystallise in my mind," she said. "I don't think this is anything particularly radical."

The reorganisation sees Aberdeen's businesses in Europe brought together under one manager. Its emerging markets operations are also being merged.

A history graduate from Durham University, Ms Garrett-Cox's ability to combine a high-flying City career with having a family has earned her the nickname Katherine the Great. She joined Aberdeen on a seven-figure salary from Hill Samuel, where as head of US equities she won plaudits for riding the fin de siècle boom in the Nasdaq technology index. In her seven years at the firm she grew assets of £570m to £3.5bn.

However, the bear market has thwarted her success more recently. Aberdeen's newly established Global Champions Fund, which focuses on growth stocks, has only recently pulled itself out of a downward spiral.

Ms Garrett-Cox acknowledged yesterday that being "out and out" growth-oriented had caused considerable pain last year, and Aberdeen was now focused on "growth at a reasonable price". "If a style goes out of fashion it can become very difficult. You need to be able to adapt," she said.

The departures include Jon Thornton, manager of the Blue Chip UK fund that fell 29 per cent last year, and Ed Protheroe, manager of the European Technology trust.