Barings Expands Senior Leadership Team With Two Key Appointments

June 9, 2026 — Barings, the $481 billion global alternative asset manager and subsidiary of MassMutual, announced the expansion of its Senior Leadership Team with two key appointments designed to accelerate growth across its alternatives platform.

Brad Finkle will join Barings as Global Chief Operating Officer — a newly created role — effective June 29, while Bryan High, Head of Global Private Finance, will join the firm's Senior Leadership Team. Both will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Freno. Additionally, Eric Lloyd, President of Barings, will transition to the role of Vice Chairman, continuing to lead strategic initiatives as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and serving as Executive Chairman of the Board of Barings BDC, Inc.

A Newly Created COO Role Targets Product Scaling and Speed to Market

As Global Chief Operating Officer, Finkle will partner with the Senior Leadership Team to advance key growth initiatives, with an initial focus on overseeing product strategy, management, and development. The mandate includes enhancing Barings' global product offering across institutional, insurance, and wealth channels, accelerating speed to market, and scaling product delivery.

Finkle joins Barings from TIAA, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President and Head of TIAA Third-Party Solutions Businesses. During nearly two decades with TIAA and Nuveen, he held senior leadership positions including Chief Administrative Officer of TIAA Wealth Management, Chief Operating Officer of Nuveen, and President of TIAA Investments.

"Amid a shifting industry landscape, Barings is well-positioned to continue to capitalize on market opportunities and build on its growth momentum," Finkle said in a statement. "I look forward to partnering closely with senior leadership, investment, and distribution teams to advance the global product offering, align and strengthen operational capabilities, and help drive execution."

"I'm pleased to welcome Brad and Bryan to Barings' Senior Leadership Team and to see Eric step into this role. Their leadership and expertise will be instrumental as we execute on our next phase of growth and continue to deliver long-term value to our clients," said Freno.

Private Finance Elevated to Senior Leadership

The elevation of Bryan High, Head of Global Private Finance, to the Senior Leadership Team reflects the firm's emphasis on its private finance capabilities as part of its next phase of growth. Barings has not specified which particular strategies within Global Private Finance are expected to drive that growth.

Platform Scaling Across Institutional, Insurance, and Wealth Channels

Barings manages $481 billion in assets as of March 31, 2026, with a focus on credit, real assets, capital solutions, and emerging markets. The firm, which has a minority investment from MS&AD in addition to its MassMutual parentage, serves clients across institutional, insurance, and wealth channels globally.

The creation of a Global COO role with explicit responsibility for product strategy and delivery reflects Barings' stated goals to "accelerate speed to market" and "scale product delivery" across its multi-channel client base. The firm's Barings BDC, Inc. subsidiary, for which Eric Lloyd will serve as Executive Chairman of the Board, provides additional exposure to private credit markets.

Sources

Barings — "Barings Expands Senior Leadership Team to Accelerate Growth," June 9, 2026