Alternative investment manager Aladdin Capital has appointed Neal Neilinger, most recently the London-based global head of credit sales, trading and syndication for Crédit Agricole investment banking subsidiary Calyon, as vice-chairman and chief investment officer.

'A new global financial landscape is emerging which requires new ideas and new skills to meet the challenge,' says Aladdin chairman and chief executive Amin Aladin (photo). 'Significant opportunities will begin to present themselves and investment firms must be positioned to meet and capitalise upon them.

'Neal Neilinger brings a wealth of experience and leadership skills to Aladdin and he will play an instrumental role in ensuring that our firm is well prepared to maximise our growth opportunities globally'.

Neilinger, who will be based in Aladdin's Stamford, Connecticut headquarters and report directly to Aladin, was previously a founding partner at NSM Capital, an advisory and asset management business based in nearby Greenwich.

He joined Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in 2000, initially as deputy head of the Americas and subsequently as a London-based managing director in charge of global debt syndication for corporate clients.

He had joined Dresdner Kleinwort from Deutsche Bank, where he was a managing director responsible for global credit activities. Earlier in his career Neilinger spent seven years with Lehman Brothers in London as an executive director in charge of European credit trading and four years with Bear Stearns in New York as a vice-president.

Established in 1999, Aladdin Capital focuses on non-traditional fixed income-based strategies. Its diversified investment platform comprises of teams with specialties including high-grade bonds, high-yield bonds, leveraged bank loans, asset-backed securities, credit default swaps and structured credit investments.

This core global credit expertise is provided by 87 investment and support professionals through a product suite including credit-focused hedge funds, collateralised debt obligations and separate accounts totalling USD16bn in assets under management at the end of July. The firm also has offices in London and Tokyo.