(Reuters) – Asset manager BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)’s top executive Mark Wiedman, who was touted to be a potential successor to CEO Larry Fink, is departing the firm, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing four people close to the company.

BlackRock’s board described Wiedman in a regulatory filing last year as one of the three “senior leaders who we believe will play critical roles in BlackRock’s future”, the report added.

BlackRock did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.