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Northern Trust Names Eric Freedman as the New CIO Amid Ongoing Leadership Changes

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Business Honor Northern Trust Names Eric Freedman as New CIO

Business Honor
06 December, 2025

Eric Freedman is appointed as the new CIO, as the company restructures leadership and strengthens its future investment strategy.

Northern Trust has appointed Eric Freedman as chief investment officer for its wealth management section, after a series of leadership changes in the company's private client and asset servicing activities. Freedman, who previously worked as CIO at US Bank, arrived at his new post. He now runs Northern Trust Wealth Management's private client investment platform and manages a team of over 200 investment managers. He reports to Jason Tyler, president of Northern Trust's Private Wealth Division.

Northern Trust Wealth Management managed $492.6 billion in funds, while its parent company, Northern Trust Corporation, had control over $1.8 trillion. Freedman succeeds Katie Nixon, who had been CIO since 2012. Nixon will now head the company's Northeast area, which is considered an important growth market, and will keep working together with Tyler as a part of the management team.

Tyler praised Nixon's leadership and said Freedman's arrival came at a time when rich investors face greater risk and information overload. He added that Freedman is expected to help keep the company's investment strategy focused and steady. Freedman has more than 20 years of experience in investments and portfolio management, having held positions at US Bank, Goldman Sachs, and CapTrust.

His hire comes after several months of major changes within Northern Trust. With these changes, Northern Trust appears to be preparing for a future in which investment leadership is more dependent on combining human experience with smart data-based instruments—indicating a shift toward wealth management models designed for the next phase of decision making.