Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced that J. Tomilson Hill, President & Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management will be transitioning to a new role as Chairman of BAAM. John P. McCormick will succeed Mr. Hill as President and CEO of BAAM.

Mr. Hill will step back from his day-to-day role running BAAM, but will maintain strong relationships with BAAM’s investor base and hedge fund relationships. He will also provide ongoing strategic advice to the senior management team and remain active in minority interest investments in hedge funds. He will continue to serve as Vice Chairman of Blackstone and as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and Management Committee.

Blackstone Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder Stephen A. Schwarzman said: “During Tom’s 25 years at Blackstone, he took our hedge fund solutions business from being a less than $1 billion business when he assumed responsibility in 2000, and built it into the world’s largest discretionary investor in hedge funds with more than $75 billion in assets under management today. I personally thank him for the many years of leadership and support he has provided BAAM and our firm more broadly.”

Mr. Hill’s transition caps a more than 40-year career of leadership and extraordinary performance in banking and alternative asset management. Since 2000, Mr. Hill has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of BAAM and became the firm’s Vice Chairman in 2007.

J. Tomilson Hill said: “I’m incredibly proud of the success of Blackstone and BAAM and immensely proud of our team. I am thrilled that John McCormick will transition to the President and CEO role. He is one of our long-time, stand-out leaders has been an integral part of the success of BAAM.”

John McCormick (50) is currently Senior Managing Director and Head of Global Business Strategy for the hedge fund solutions group. Mr. McCormick joined BAAM in 2005 and has overall responsibility for global marketing and client services functions in addition to overseeing our Liquid Alternatives business, GP Stakes business, and our hedge fund seeding business.

On the appointment of Mr. McCormick, Mr. Schwarzman said: “I am delighted to announce John’s appointment as President and CEO of BAAM. John is a capable and accomplished leader. In his 13 years at Blackstone, he has played an integral role in determining the strategy of our hedge fund business and helped to spearhead multiple new business initiatives. Transitions like these speak to the depth of talent across the firm and the way the firm plans for the future.”

John McCormick said: “It is a privilege to be appointed to lead BAAM. This opportunity is extremely exciting for me and I look forward to working with Blackstone’s senior management and BAAM’s talented team to continue building on Tom’s substantial legacy.”

Mr. McCormick’s career spans 25 years and includes roles at McKinsey & Company where he worked on senior level strategy issues for a wide range of financial services industry clients. Mr. McCormick began his career as an attorney with Davis Polk & Wardwell and has also served at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Mr. McCormick received a BA from Vassar College and a JD from Yale Law School.

About Blackstone

Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with over $385 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.