The investment manager PineBridge Investments has appointed former Goldman Sachs man John Thornton as chairman.

The investment manager PineBridge Investments has appointed former Goldman Sachs man John Thornton as chairman.

Thornton - who retired as Goldman’s co-president in 2003 - succeeds E Mervyn Davies, a former Standard Chartered head, who has been chairman of PineBridge for four years.

PineBridge - which has $71 billion in assets under management - is majority owned by the Pacific Century Group, the investment firm run by the Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li. It was formerly the asset management arm of the American International Group which sold it to Pacific Century in 2010.

Thornton joined Goldman Sachs in 1980 and became renowned for his high octane deal making while working in London. He is also chairman of the board of Barrick Gold Corporation and director of the Ford Motor Company.