NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Mutual fund company T. Rowe

Price Associates has hired a veteran executive from proxy

advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services' special

situations group to lead its proxy voting and governance

engagement program in the Americas.

Nina Aicardi begins work at T. Rowe Price ( TROW ), one of

the world's biggest asset managers, on Friday. As head of

corporate governance, Americas, at T. Rowe Price Associates, one

of T. Rowe Price's ( TROW ) investment advisers, she will assume some

responsibilities from Donna Anderson, who heads corporate

governance at the investment firm and is retiring at the end of

September, a T. Rowe Price ( TROW ) spokesman confirmed to Reuters.

"Nina and Donna will work together in Donna's remaining days

at T. Rowe Price Associates to ensure a seamless transition,"

spokesman Bill Benintende said. ISS declined to comment on the

move and Aicardi could not be reached for comment.

T. Rowe Price ( TROW ) oversees $1.7 trillion in assets and its views

on hot-button issues like proxy contests are widely followed.

Over her nearly two decades at the firm, Anderson became one of

the most powerful voices in the tight-knit corporate governance

world, helping shape voting policies and laying them out

publicly. She joined T. Rowe Price ( TROW ) in 2007.

Anderson's duties will be split between Aicardi and Jocelyn

Brown who was promoted to T. Rowe Price Associates' global head

of corporate governance in July.

Brown joined the asset manager in 2020 as head of corporate

governance, EMEA and APAC.

Brown will remain based in London while Aicardi will work

from Baltimore, where T. Rowe Price ( TROW ) is headquartered.

At ISS, where she worked for six years, Aicardi helped

determine the outcomes of proxy contests between prominent hedge

funds and companies through recommendations on how investors

should cast votes.

A number of key personnel changes have occurred in the

governance world this year, including Anderson's planned

retirement, first reported by Reuters in March.

In the last weeks, BlackRock ( BLK ), the world's biggest

asset manager, made a series of management changes in its

stewardship team which votes on issues ranging from lobbying

disclosures to a corporation's stance on climate change.

ISS in January promoted a veteran executive to head the

special situations group to replace the former head who left for

another position.