LONDON, March 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- BNY Mellon, a global leader in investment management and investment services, has appointed Frank La Salla as Chief Executive Officer of its Alternative Investment Services (AIS) business.

La Salla will report to Samir Pandiri, BNY Mellon Executive Vice President and CEO of Asset Servicing. He was most recently Managing Director at Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, where he was responsible for all of Pershing's business outside of the U.S. and led its global growth strategy.

La Salla assumes a role Pandiri has held the past two years. He will be based in New York and oversee a team of more than 2,000 AIS professionals worldwide.

"Client demand for alternative investments is growing, as institutions and individuals seek to enhance returns and manage risk in a low-interest rate environment. At the same time, we're helping hedge fund managers deal with the host of new regulations and reporting requirements around those assets," said Pandiri. "Frank's experience building global businesses will be pivotal as we continue to expand AIS's offerings around the world."

"This is a strategic growth initiative for us," said Tim Keaney, BNY Mellon vice chairman and CEO of Investment Services. "We've seen a marked expansion in serving our alternative investment manager clients in recent years and continue to see tremendous upside potential in this business."

Alongside his new role, La Salla will remain on the board of Pershing Limited in the UK and continue to represent BNY Mellon on the Board of Directors of Euroclear PLC and Euroclear SA.

Before BNY Mellon's acquisition of Pershing in 2003, La Salla was President and Chief Operating Officer of BNY Clearing Services LLC. Prior to that, he served as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Societe Generale Securities Corp. in the U.S.

Notes to editors:

BNY Mellon is a leading administrator of alternative assets, including single manager hedge funds, funds of hedge funds and private equity, with more than $645 billion of alternative assets under administration and/or custody and offices worldwide. BNY Mellon also offers a wide range of cash management, foreign exchange, collateral management, corporate trust, and wealth management services to the alternative investments industry.

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of December 31, 2013, BNY Mellon had $27.6 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create trade, hold, manage service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Learn more at www.bnymellon.com or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon.

This press release is issued by The Bank of New York Mellon to members of the financial press and media. All information and figures source BNY Mellon unless otherwise stated as at December 31, 2013. The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, registered in England and Wales with FC005522 and BR000818. Branch office: One Canada Square, London E14 5AL. The Bank of New York Mellon is supervised and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services and the Federal Reserve and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority. The Bank of New York Mellon London branch is subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Details about the extent of our regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request.

SOURCE BNY Mellon