Pellis has joined from LGT Capital Management where he was a member of its executive board for two years.
He is more renowned for his time at Threadneedle Investments, having taken responsibility for developing its presence in Europe and Latin America, before becoming its head of European distribution from 2004 until 2010.
He spent the early part of his career at Fleming Fund Management in Luxembourg, where he held management positions in client services and marketing in the 1990s.
Amundi was formed in 2010 and is 75% owned by Crédit Agricole and 25% by Société Générale.