Cameron joins BlackRock from Stifel Financial Corp and "has a history of building successful teams that interact" with top corporate executives, according to the memo.

With $6.29 trillion in assets under management, BlackRock is often the largest shareholder in U.S. corporations, giving it a powerful voice on their operations and board makeup.

In a letter at the start of this year, BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink called for more communications between shareholders and companies they own, and promised "deeper, more frequent and more productive conversations."

Cameron is taking on a job that has been vacant since Zach Oleksiuk left BlackRock last October. He will report to Michelle Edkins, a managing director of the firm, according to a BlackRock spokesman.

(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by Marguerita Choy)