Jon Cleborne

Spear’s Review

Jon Cleborne heads up investment management giant Vanguard’s European business, taking the reins from Sean Hagerty in May 2024. 

The youthful Cleborne has worked for Vanguard – a $360 billion powerhouse which serves more than half a million customers in the UK alone – since he graduated in 2003 from the University of Virginia. After beginning his career in its ‘acceleration into management’ programme, he worked in the firm’s retail investor group before moving into investment strategy. An MBA at Dartmouth paved the way for senior roles in product strategy and development. Prior to his current role, he spent six years leading Vanguard’s personal advisory offering. 

When his promotion was announced, the firm’s managing director for its non-US markets, Chris McIsaac, said: ‘Jon’s wealth of experience and global perspective will be instrumental to our focus on serving financial intermediaries and individual investors at a time of significant momentum for Vanguard in Europe.’

His appointment comes amid change in the wider Vanguard family, which has seen Salim Ramji, the former head of BlackRock’s popular iShares ETF business, take over as the firm’s CEO.