Millennium co-CIO Paul Russo to retire end of 2026

Paul Russo, co-chief investment officer at Millennium Management, will retire at the end of 2026 and will remain available to the firm in an advisory capacity. He oversees risk across Millennium’s equities business and serves on the firm’s Office of the CIO.

People familiar with the matter said Russo intends to step down after several years in the firm’s senior investment ranks. He was the first member named to the Office of the CIO when founder Izzy Englander introduced the leadership structure in 2022 following the departure of former co-CIO Bobby Jain. Millennium declined to comment on the planned retirement.

The retirement comes as the $89 billion multistrategy hedge fund continues to restructure its investment leadership. In recent months the Office of the CIO has expanded to include Rich Mazzella, Millennium’s global head of fixed income, and Pete Santoro, a global co-head of equities, joining existing members Justin Gmelich and Scott Rofey.

The firm has also reorganized several trading and research units. It adopted co-head leadership for equities, separated its fixed income and commodities operations into distinct teams, and created a standalone credit trading unit led by Dan Friedman. Former Office of the CIO executive Jeff Verschleiser moved into a senior adviser role.

At Millennium, Russo’s responsibilities included overseeing risk controls and strategy execution within the equities platform. Remaining in an advisory role will enable the firm to consult his experience while newer leaders are integrated into its governance and investment operations.