Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal | Patrik Edsparr has left Citadel Investment Group, making him the Chicago hedge-fund firm’s latest top executive to depart.

Citadel spokeswoman Katie Spring said Edsparr was “let go” from the
firm within the last two weeks. Messages left for Edsparr and his
assistant at Citadel’s London office Tuesday weren’t immediately
returned. He didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. Edsparr had
told associates in London in recent days that he was leaving, says a
person close to the matter.

Citadel’s management committee had discussed potentially needing new leadership for the securities division run by Edsparr, including the need to have its top executive based in New York where the business is located, Spring said.

The move comes as founder Kenneth Griffin continues to work to stabilize the firm following bruising hedge-fund losses in 2008 and the launch of an investment bank that’s seen leadership turnover.

A former J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. veteran, Edsparr joined Citadel in 2008 as its top London-based executive. Most recently he was global chief executive of Citadel Securities, which includes the firm’s fledgling investment bank.

Edsparr had taken on additional responsibilities since mid-2009 as other senior executives left. Those who left included Todd Kaplan, former head of Citadel’s investment bank, as well as his former boss, Rohit D’Souza. Peter Santoro, the firm’s institutional-trading chief, also left last year.