Citadel names Nabeel Bhanji to lead merged international equities

Citadel has merged its international equities divisions and put Nabeel Bhanji in charge of the combined unit. Bhanji joined the firm from Elliott Management in 2024. The change follows the departure of Drew Gillanders and affects the firm’s long-short equity work outside the United States.

The consolidation combines Citadel International Equities and Strategic Equity Investments and centralizes decision-making for Europe and Asia. Citadel announced the reorganization as part of an effort to increase the capital it can deploy across markets in Europe and Asia from its offices in London, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Strategic Equity Investments, launched last year under Bhanji’s leadership, gave portfolio managers greater flexibility to take larger stakes and hold positions for longer periods. Managers in that unit were encouraged to engage directly with company executives and boards. The approach has been described internally as constructivist and less confrontational than activist campaigns associated with Bhanji’s former employer.

Bhanji spent more than a decade at Elliott, where he rose to portfolio manager and equity partner and worked on campaigns involving Anglo American and SoftBank. At Citadel he will oversee the merged operation and focus on expanding portfolio management capacity and investment activity in non-US markets.

Citadel said the combined operation will support its expansion outside the United States and help develop portfolio management talent across its international teams.