By Jennifer Ablan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pacific Investment Management Co said on Tuesday it has rehired Paul McCulley, a former portfolio manager and top U.S. Federal Reserve watcher at the bond giant, in its latest reshuffle after the high-profile departure of former chief executive Mohamed El-Erian earlier this year.
Pimco, which oversaw $1.94 trillion as of March 31, said McCulley will be its chief economist, a new role at the firm, and will report to Bill Gross, co-founder and chief investment officer.
In a statement, Gross said: "Paul is an experienced and respected thought leader on macroeconomic issues and central banks and he will be an important contributor to our investment process. During his previous years at Pimco, he played an instrumental role in anticipating and understanding economic dynamics that led to the global financial crisis."
McCulley was named a managing director and will be a member of Pimco's investment committee. McCulley will spend up to 100 days per year working in Pimco offices around the world, and he will also continue to dedicate a portion of his time to activities outside the firm, including leading the Morgan le Fay Dreams Foundation, as well as academic activities, Pimco said.
Over the past three years, McCulley, 57, has been chairman of the Global Society of Fellows at the Global Interdependence Center, where he published two path-breaking papers on monetary and central bank policy.
McCulley first joined Newport Beach, California-based Pimco in 1990 as an account manager. He left two years later to become chief economist for the Americas at UBS. He returned to the firm in 1999 as a portfolio manager, and became head of its short-term desk and a member of the investment committee, and also led Pimco's cyclical forum.
(Additional reporting by Luciana Lopez; Editing by Peter Galloway)
