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Former Merrill fixed-income chief Semerci joins Duet Asset Management as chief executive

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London-based alternative asset management firm Duet Group has appointed Osman Semerci as a partner and chief executive.

London-based alternative asset management firm Duet Group has appointed Osman Semerci as a partner and chief executive. Semerci will work closely with founding partners Alain Schibl and Henry Gabay, who become executive co-chairmen.

Duet was established in 2002 with USD10m and today manages more than USD1.7 billion in a mix of 13 private equity, hedge and long-only funds. The firm, which has some 40 employees, recently launched a number of new funds including the Duet Global Macro Fund, Duet Victoire Africa Index Fund, Duet India Hotels and Golden Horn Turkish Real Estate Fund.

‘Duet Asset Management is at an exciting point in its development, with great funds and talented people,’ Semerci says. ‘The opportunities that such a role offered me are immense.’

Within the firm’s new structure, Semerci as chief executive is responsible for the day-to-day management of the group, as well as building a structured products division, while Schibl focuses on hedge funds and trading and Gabay on private equity and business development.

Semerci was previously Merrill Lynch’s global head of fixed income, currencies and commodities, responsible for the firm’s worldwide trading and sales activities in fixed income, currencies, commodities, principal investments and real estate, and was a member of the firm’s global operating committee.

After a total of 16 years with Merrill in Europe and Asia, he stepped down last October when Merrill was forced to write down USD1.5bn in its fixed-income business. This was the prelude to a series of asset write-downs that now total nearly USD20m and also cost the job of chief executive Stanley O’Neal.

‘Duet Group has experienced tremendous growth and success over the past five years and it is our belief that Osman’s appointment as chief executive will take Duet to the next level,’ says Gabay, who worked with Semerci at Merrill.

‘His appointment, along with the corporate changes we are announcing, formalises our business structure. Osman’s experience will be a powerful addition to the development of Duet. On a more personal note, we have known Osman for a number of years, and he is a great fit within our business culture.’

Says Schibl: ‘With Osman on board we now have a five-year growth plan to become one of the leading European alternative asset management companies.’

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