The Board of Trustees elected Perry M. Traquina ’78 as its new chair of the for a three-year term, beginning May 19, at their meeting this week.

Traquina, the son of Portuguese immigrants, is now the chairman and CEO of Wellington Management Company LLP. He graduated from Brandeis summa cum laude, as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, in 1978. As an undergraduate economics major, he studied abroad at the London School of Economics and earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1980.

Traquina will succeed Malcolm Sherman, the philanthropist and business executive who served as board chairman since 2007.

“Perry Traquina will continue a tradition of strong board leadership at Brandeis, combining the perspective of a seasoned and visionary business leader with the passion of a Brandeis alumnus. We are all extremely enthusiastic about Perry’s leadership,” President Frederick Lawrence said in a statement. “We are grateful to Mal Sherman for his leadership in a challenging economic environment. He has been a true partner as I assumed the presidency of Brandeis, helping spearhead a governance review and the implementation of new governance rules.”

At Wellington, Traquina oversees an investment management firm with more than $750 billion in client assets under management and 2,000 employees worldwide. The company’s headquarters are located in Boston, and there are 11 other global offices.

Traquina is a chartered financial analyst, a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research and a trustee of the Winsor School, a private school in Boston. He was elected to the Brandeis Board of Trustees in 2002 and has served as co-chair of the investment committee and as a member of the executive committee.