Meet Ramji, who is going to oversee retirement assets of millions of Americans

livemint.com:

The first outsider to take the helm of investing giant Vanguard Group is the son of Tanzanian immigrants who didn’t attend college but wanted to ensure their three children did. Salim Ramji grew up in British Columbia and spent summers working in the grocery store his father ran. During the school year, he debated.

“Salim, who has won every debate he has entered in four years, is the first Canadian to win the World Student Championship," a local newspaper reported in 1988 after Ramji advanced all the way from Victoria, B.C., to a global competition in England. Vanguard on Tuesday named Ramji, 53 years old, its next chief executive. He will succeed Tim Buckley, who is retiring after six years.

Ramji will run the $9 trillion asset manager, a behemoth responsible for the retirement assets of tens of millions of Americans. Analysts say he’ll need to balance any ambitious new business plans with the conservative investing culture instilled by Vanguard’s late founder John C. Bogle.

While Vanguard keeps its overall financial performance private, it remains a dominant player in the U.S. funds business, collecting $203 billion of new investor money last year. Ramji said in an interview he will hold off on discussing his mandate and mission for Vanguard until he sets foot in the door.

Ramji’s debate roots keep coming through in professional settings, in how he can win over a crowd, think quickly and communicate feedback both good and bad, former colleagues say. “He could’ve said, ‘Let’s start a garbage removal practice,’ and he’d probably sign up half the office," said Dominic Barton, former global managing partner at McKinsey. Ramji says his mother gave him an early insight into his future customers.