Aquila Distributors has appointed Marie Aro and Paul O'Brien as co-presidents. They will succeed Maryann Bruce, who is leaving at the end of the week to take a board seat at another New York City-based asset manager.

Aquila, which has AUM of more than $4.3 billion across its 12 funds, also recently tapped Bob Driessen as chief compliance officer of Aquila Distributors, Aquila Investment Management and each of Aquila's funds. Driessen took over from Robert Anderson at the end of last year.

As co-presidents of the distribution arm, Aro and O'Brien will jointly run sales. In addition, Aro will spearhead marketing and brand management, while O'Brien will oversee operations and governance.

Both will report to Aquila Investment Management CEO Diana Herrmann.

Why did Aquila Distributors appoint not one, but two presidents?

"We believe both of them are very qualified individuals," Herrmann told The MutualFundWire. "They have complementary skill sets and have a strong working relationship."

Aro currently serves as marketing director and key account manager. She started out as a regional sales manager for the firm. She later left to join Invesco, then re-joined Aquila in 2004. She has been with the Aquila for a total of 11 years.

O'Brien currently serves as managing director reponsible for strategic planning, governance, data management and general administration. Prior to joining Aquila, he worked as chief administrative officer at Evergreen Investments.

Aquila's sales team consists of six external wholesalers and four internal sales and marketing support staff.

According to Herrmann, Aro and O'Brien will implement the strategic plan they had developed with Bruce. That plan includes talent management and development.

Aquila's product roster includes seven single-state municipal bond funds, a high-yield corporate bond fund, a diversified equity fund and three money market funds. 

Correction: A previous version of this headline did not specify the Aquila unit that appointed co-presidents.

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