Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, has named Detlef Scholz as president of its expanded, global ratings organization. The leadership announcement comes as Morningstar today completes its previously announced acquisition of DBRS, the world’s fourth largest credit ratings agency, for a purchase price of US$669 million.

Scholz will assume his new role Aug. 1, 2019 and report to Morningstar Chief Executive Officer Kunal Kapoor. Scholz currently serves as head of Europe at DBRS, where he significantly expanded DBRS’s business and doubled its size over the past four years. Prior to joining DBRS, Scholz held numerous leadership roles across ratings management, global structured finance, and global financial institutions in Frankfurt, New York, and London at Moody’s Investors Service.

“We look forward to building on the best of DBRS’s and Morningstar Credit Ratings’ processes and innovations to form the first global fintech credit ratings agency, committed to independent and transparent ratings and research with a long-term approach,” said Kapoor. “With more than 25 years in the credit ratings business, Detlef brings the global expertise and thoughtfulness needed to bring our organizations together.”

DBRS rates more than 2,400 issuer families and nearly 50,000 securities worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, it has more than 500 people spread across its seven locations. Combining DBRS’s strong market presence in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. with Morningstar Credit Ratings’ U.S. footprint will expand global asset class coverage and provide investors with an enhanced platform featuring thought leadership in fixed-income analysis and research.

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“Our teams at DBRS and Morningstar Credit Ratings share the same commitment to state-of-the art analytics, high-quality ratings, and technology that makes our customers’ lives easier,” said Scholz. “As one global, full-service credit ratings agency, we will raise the bar in the industry by being more transparent, reliable and responsive than anyone else.”

DBRS Chief Executive Officer Stephen Joynt will remain on board to facilitate the integration efforts, continuing the momentum of both organizations in pursuit of enhancing scale in both the U.S. and Europe and gaining share of the growing global credit ratings market. Over the next several months, teams will collaborate in order to make thoughtful decisions regarding the integration of existing ratings, analytic models, methodologies, and branding.

SOURCE Morningstar, Inc.