Two senior figures are joining the office and the bank intends to build out the team, targeting the southeastern region of the US.

Citi Private Bank is opening a new office in Atlanta, based in Georgia’s Buckhead region. 

Austin Koenen, a private banker serving ultra-high net worth individuals, and Doug Poetzsch, an investment counselor, will initially lead the office, and add talent in the coming months.

They report to Luke Palacio, regional market manager – Southeast US.

“We are now witnessing a robust growth scenario for wealth creation underpinned by strong demographic and commercial shifts taking place in the South. Atlanta provides an ideal location to pursue this opportunity across the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, and also serves as an additional touchpoint for our Southeastern clients,” Palacio said.

Koenen joins Citi from JP Morgan Private Bank in Atlanta, where he was a banker responsible for advising ultra-high net worth relationships throughout the Southeast. He has over 15 years of industry experience. Prior to JP Morgan, Koenen worked in Hong Kong, London and New York for Nomura International and Lehman Brothers. 

Poetzsch joined Citi Private Bank as an investment associate in 2017. Previously, he was an associate equity sales trader at Citi, where he covered hedge funds and wealth management firms up to $5 billion in assets under management. 

Prior to that, Poetzsch was a sales and trading analyst on both the foreign exchange and structured product sales desks, also at Citi. 

Another wealth manager, a hybrid digital firm called Personal Capital, has also opened in Buckhead in recent days.