May 14 (Reuters) - Vanguard Group had named former

BlackRock executive Salim Ramji as its new chief

executive officer and as a member of the board, effective July

8, the U.S. asset management company said in a statement on

Tuesday.

Ramji will replace Tim Buckley, whose departure as the

chairman and CEO was announced in February. Buckley has spent

more than three decades at the company.

At BlackRock, Ramji was a member of the company's Global

Executive Committee and the global head of iShares and Index

Investments, where he was responsible for two-thirds of the

firm's assets and growth.