The race to succeed Larry Fink just got a little more interesting as a top contender exits BlackRock

• Mark Wiedman, a top BlackRock executive, is leaving the asset-management firm.
• Wiedman was seen as a prospective successor to CEO Larry Fink.
• He's leaving to pursue opportunities outside the firm, a source said.

A top BlackRock executive, Mark Wiedman, who was considered a prospective successor to CEO Larry Fink, is leaving the world's largest asset manager, a person familiar with the matter said.

Wiedman, who most recently led BlackRock's global client business, was one of two senior executives that insiders at the $11.5 trillion firm considered most likely to replace Fink, Business Insider previously reported.

Wiedman, 54, has chosen to pursue opportunities outside the firm and plans to stay on through the spring, the person familiar with the matter said.

A veteran of BlackRock who has been with the firm for two decades, Wiedman joined from the US Treasury Department and rose up the ranks. He was responsible for the integration and growth of its exchange-traded-fund business, iShares, and helped establish FMA, the firm's influential consulting arm. The Financial Times earlier reported his planned departure.

Fink, who turned 72 in November, had a blockbuster 2024, announcing three big acquisitions in hopes of bringing BlackRock closer to dominating the world of private markets. In December, BlackRock said it was set to buy HPS Investment Partners, a private-credit behemoth managing $148 billion.

Fink, who cofounded BlackRock in 1988, has been more vocal over the past year about the firm's growth plans than about whom he plans to pass the business on to. But he previously said that he had "no higher pri­or­ity" than put­ting together a team to replace him­ and Rob Kapito, Black­Rock's pres­id­ent.

The news of Wiedman's exit comes a day before BlackRock is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings.

Rob Goldstein, the firm's chief operating officer, along with Wiedman, has been named as a prospective successor to Fink. Other names in the mix have included Martin Small, the chief financial officer and global head of corporate strategy, Rachel Lord, the head of international, and Stephen Cohen, who was promoted to chief product officer last year.

Last January, Salim Ramji, another executive considered a prospective successor, left and joined Vanguard as its chief executive in July.

Wiedman's exit will likely be seen internally as a surprise.

Rebecca Ungarino reported for BI in January 2024 that it had "always been Weidman" at the front of the race.

A person familiar with the matter told her: "Now, it's hard to predict when a transition may happen. The senior-most officers of the firm thought the transition would have taken place awhile ago. Larry is definitely taking his sweet time."