Pimco Rehires Spence, Banet to Rebuild After Gross Departure

Pacific Investment Management Co., seeking to bolster its investment team after the unexpected departure last month of co-founder Bill Gross, named Nobel Laureate Michael Spence as consultant and rehired money manager Jeremie Banet as executive vice president.

Spence, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, served in a similar consulting role until February, Newport Beach, California-based Pimco said today in a statement. Banet, who left in June to start a food-truck business selling croque-monsieurs, will rejoin Nov. 3 and manage real-return strategies including inflation-protected bonds, the firm said. He’ll continue to pursue his food truck business, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the decision is private.