By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
BOSTON (Reuters) - Lucy DeStefano, former head of trading at hedge fund Citadel's Aptigon unit, is set to join Soros Fund Management later this year, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Soros Fund Management is the $26 billion family office of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, and the firm's investments as well as its staffing decisions are closely watched in the $3.2 trillion hedge fund industry.
At Soros, DeStefano will report to head of trading Jessica Murphy and join the firm's trading team to focus on systematic trading strategy for macro investments. Dawn Fitzpatrick has been leading investments at Soros as chief investment officer for roughly one year, cementing her status as one of Wall Street's most powerful women.
A spokesman for Soros declined to comment.
Citadel, which invests roughly $28 billion, cut staff at its Apitgon business, one of its stock picking units, by more than 30 percent from late February to early March.
The cuts included portfolio managers, analysts, associates and other ancillary staff.
DeStefano, who did not respond to requests for comment, resigned from Citadel's Aptigon unit in April, a Citadel spokesman confirmed. She will join Soros in the fourth quarter of 2018, one of the people familiar with her plans said.
DeStefano graduated from Princeton University and previously worked at hedge fund Pine River Capital Management.