Veteran manager Sullivan to lead Wells Fargo's divested asset management arm

July 26 (Reuters) - Private equity firms GTCR LLC and Reverence Capital Partners said on Monday financial industry veteran Joseph Sullivan will head Wells Fargo Asset Management, the business they agreed to acquire earlier this year from Wells Fargo in a $2.1 billion deal.

Sullivan, who was previously the chief executive officer of asset manager Legg Mason Inc, will take the helm after the deal closes in the second half of this year. Current CEO Nico Marais will retire and become a senior adviser, the companies said.

Sullivan, a veteran of four decades in the industry, was already tapped for the role of executive chairman earlier.

Wells Fargo Asset Management will also be renamed to Allspring Global Investments after the closing of the deal, the companies said.

In February this year, the major U.S. lender agreed to sell its asset management business, which manages more than $600 billion in assets, to GTCR and Reverence, in what was the biggest shake-up since top boss Charles Scharf joined as CEO in 2019. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)