Morningstar CEO Joe Mansueto to step down

Joe Mansueto

Kunal Kapoor, who currently serves as Morningstar's president, has been appointed the new CEO.

Morningstar Inc. (MORN), the Chicago investment trackers, announced major management changes Tuesday, anointing Kunal Kapoor as chief executive officer.

Founder and current CEO Joe Mansueto will become executive chairman on Jan. 1 and continue in his role as chairman of the board. Don Phillips, a managing director and Morningstar’s first mutual fund analyst, will voluntarily step down from the company board to limit the number of inside directors.

“As I turn 60, I’m ready to transition to an executive chairman role,” Mr. Mansueto said in a statement.

“I love the company as much as I did when I started it in 1984 and am just as excited by our prospects as ever,” Mr. Mansueto stated. “As I mentioned in my memo to employees I’ll still be very involved with Morningstar, but my role will focus more on strategy, capital allocation, advising Kunal and our senior team, and leading our board of directors. I’ve given this change a lot of thought over the past year, and I’m looking forward to having a more flexible schedule and more time to think about investing and technology.”

Mr. Kapoor, 41, currently serves as Morningstar’s president. He originally joined Morningstar as a data analyst in 1997 and has served in his current role since October 2015. Before that, Mr. Kapoor was head of global products and client solutions. Since joining Morningstar in 1997 as a data analyst, he has held a variety of roles at the firm, including fund analyst, senior research analyst for Morningstar Investment Services, Inc., editor of Morningstar Mutual Funds, director of mutual fund analysis, director of business strategy for international operations, and president and chief investment officer of Morningstar Investment Services.

Mr. Phillips will continue in his role as a managing director for Morningstar, focusing on research innovation.

“Don has been an outstanding board member since we first formed a board in 1999, and his perspective on the industry is second to none,” Mr. Mansueto said in a statement. “Don is a beloved leader in the Morningstar community, and I am grateful for his commitment to Morningstar’s success.”

Morningstar, which began life on Mr. Mansueto’s kitchen table, has operations in 27 countries and a current market value of $3.6 billion.