A roundup of moves in the world's wealth management industry.

Investment firm Cambridge Associates named Harinder Soin as chief data officer and Adam Lester as head of corporate strategy. They were newly formed posts.

Soin reports to Jason Roberts, chief technology officer and Lester reports to the firm’s chief executive, David Druley. Soin has worked at the firm since 2016 with a total of 20 years’ industry experience. Lester works from the firm’s New York office. 

Nuveen, the investment manager arm of US-based TIAA, promoted Romina Smith to the newly-created role of head of continental Europe within its global client group. Christoffer Hedberg, who is responsible for Northern Europe, and Sergio Trezzi, who leads Southern Europe, reports to Smith. Smith is still be based in Frankfurt and reports to Simon England-Brammer, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific global client group at Nuveen. In 2018, Smith who joined the company in 2016, took charge of growing the central European business and gradually expanding the solutions offering for investors in the region. 

Progeny appointed Heather Ross to the new role of head of Academy. The Progeny Adviser Academy was launched in April 2019 and currently offers a three-year programme that targets Chartered status. Ross has more 30 years of experience. She has worked at senior level at groups including Standard Life, Aegon UK and Prudential, where she was responsible for overseeing learning and development, project management, training and competence, and operations. Most recently Ross was learning and development director at Balmoral Asset Management.

London-based Burgess Mee Family Law appointed Emma Morris as a legal director.She was previously a partner and head of department at Rooks Rider Solicitors. Prior to that, Morris worked at Wedlake Bell as a solicitor specialising in family law upon qualification in 1995.

Rathbone Greenbank Investments appointed David Cox as the new head of investments. With nearly 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, Cox joined from Brunel Pension Partnership, where he was deputy chief investment officer. 

Laura Hobbs joined as an investment director, responsible for managing charity portfolios and helping charities to align their investments with their ethical values and sustainability ambitions. Previously Hobbs was a responsible investment manager for Brunel Pension Partnership.

Emma Williams joined as a senior ethical, sustainable and impact (ESI) researcher. Before joining Greenbank, she was an associate director at Grant Thornton UK LLP and has previously held positions within social investment at Bristol & Bath Regional Capital CIC and corporate sustainability at PwC. The trio are based in Bristol. 

Astra Protocol, a decentralised know-your-client platform for Web 3.0 businesses, appointed former Samsung Electronics president and chief strategy officer Young Sohn to join its advisory board.

During his tenure at Samsung, Young Sohn led the $8 billion acquisition of HARMAN International Industries, a name in the internet-of-things and cloud solutions, of which Young Sohn is chairman of the board. He is founding managing partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures, a venture capital firm helping early-stage companies in deep tech. 

Law firm Kingsley Napley appointed Waqar Shah as a partner to launch a dedicated tax disputes and investigations service offering. 

Shah acts for high net worth individuals and corporate clients across many sectors on a range of HMRC disputes and investigations. Prior to this role, he worked at Mishcon de Reya LLP where he became a partner in 2021. He started his career as a lawyer at PwC Legal LLP.

London law firm Druces appointed Parveen Abbas as a partner in the real estate team. Abbas is a residential real estate specialist whose expertise spans the breadth of property work, including, notably, the prime and super prime markets.

Multrees Investor Services, a provider of outsourced custody, execution and trading, investment administration and services, appointed David Harrand and Martyn Johnson. Harrand joined the group as business development manager and Johnson is moving into the role of chief technology officer. Harrand has previously been a relationship manager, an account director and worked in business development in the financial services sector, most recently with trading services firm SIX Securities Services.

Johnson was appointed as the firm’s new chief transformation officer. With 23 years industry experience, including most recently fund services at JP Morgan, Johnson has been leading strategic transformation programmes at blue chip companies for more than half of his career.

Global institutional and private client service provider JTC made a raft of senior appointments as part of its bi-annual group-wide promotions. More than 200 employees were recognised for their achievements and commitment to professional development across the group’s jurisdictional network.

In particular, Emma Menzies was promoted to group director, tax compliance and regulatory reporting in Jersey. The following were all appointed to senior director level: Bennie Burger (risk and compliance – Jersey), Claire Stride (business development and marketing – Jersey), Rebecca Stannard (business development and marketing – Jersey), Richard Mukungatu (corporate services – Jersey) Rachel Pettitt (employer solutions – Guernsey), Hanneke Olijslagers (corporate services – Amsterdam), Jill Jones (legal – San Jose), John Docherty (corporate services – Amsterdam), and Sheilagh Hall (human resources – Cape Town).

Promotions were made across 22 of JTC’s offices, including more than 50 in Jersey and 40 in Cape Town. Additionally, approximately 30 people were promoted in the US. In the jurisdictions of Guernsey, Ireland and Luxembourg, the number of employees who have been promoted reached double figures.
 

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Nomura Asset Management, a global investment manager, appointed Kevin McFarlane as regional sales director covering the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. McFarlane has over 30 years’ experience in the finance industry. Previously, he was regional sales investment manager for SVM Asset Management. 

Global investor services group IQ-EQ named former senior HSBC figure Matthew Abbott as global head of sales operations. He is based in London. Abbott has more than 20 years’ industry experience spanning investor and asset servicing and wealth management. He was previously director and global head of sales and client enablement for HSBC Securities Services. In his new post, Abbott reports to Emma Crabtree, group chief commercial officer.

Denis Panel joined Sycomore Asset Management, part of Europe's Generali Investments, as chief executive officer. Emeric Préaubert, co-founder of Sycomore AM, stepped down from his operational role, but remains a member of the supervisory board. Christine Kolb and Cyril Charlot, co-founders of the firm, and respectively head of business development and CIO, maintained their responsibilities and support Panel.

Until recently, Panel served as global head of the Multi-Asset, Quantitative & Solutions (MAQS) division, BNP Paribas Asset Management’s largest investment centre. Over his career he has served in senior roles at Crédit Agricole AM, BNP Paribas Asset Management, and THEAM, an index-linked and quantitative asset management firm.

atomos, an advice-led wealth manager, has announced appointments for its Fareham office. Sean Sims and Bruce Davison, joined as wealth planning director and senior wealth planner respectively, and report to Mike Mason, head of the Fareham office. Sims was previously at Sims Financial Planning, a Southampton-based business which he founded over 25 years ago. Before that he worked for Sedgwick Noble Lowndes as a financial advisor. Sims specialises in pre and post retirement advice. Davison joined from NFU Mutual where he worked locally as a financial advisor for over 23 years. 

The Independent Investment Management Initiative, a boutique asset management think tank, appointed Sebastian Stewart as chairman. Stewart, who has been on the board of the IIMI since 2017, became deputy chairman in 2019. 

ABN AMRO appointed Ferdinand Vaandrager as its interim chief financial officer. Vaandrager replaced Lars Kramer, who took up the post in June 2021 for a four-year stint. Kramer decided to pursue another career opportunity outside the Netherlands-based bank.

Vaandrager, who has worked in banking for more than 25 years, has gained experience in the financial industry both in the UK and the Netherlands. 

Capital Group appointed Katharine Dryer as equity lead, Europe and Asia client group. Based in London, she reports to Alexandra Haggard, head of asset class services, Europe and Asia client group. Dryer has more than 25 years of industry experience. She was most recently deputy CIO at Jupiter Asset Management where she worked in a number of key roles for nearly 10 years. 

AXA IM appointed Olivier Paquier as global head of ETF Sales. He reports to Nicolas-Louis Guille-Biel, global head of ETF and Product Strategy. Paquier has extensive experience in ETF sales from State Street as head of SPDR ETF distribution in France, Monaco, Spain and Portugal. Prior to State Street, he worked at JP Morgan Asset Management.

Brooks Macdonald Group named James Rawlingson as non-executive director. Rawlingson serves as chairman of the audit and risk committee at Citibank UK, chairman of the audit and risk assurance committee at the Foreign Office’s executive agency Wilton Park, and chairman of the board at Novai Ltd. In his executive career James has held senior positions at Coutts, UBS Wealth, Charles Stanley plc and Arix Bioscience.

LGT Wealth Management appointed Elliott O’Brien as head of business transformation. O’Brien, a partner at LGT Wealth Management, reports to CEO Ben Snee. As head of business transformation – a newly-created position – he works with Simon Boyley, head of technology, to shape and deliver the firm’s digital strategy. O’Brien, who brings 10 years of client-facing experience as an investment manager, joined the company in 2017 from HSBC Private Bank where he was a relationship manager.

André Huwiler joined Neue Privat Bank as head of external asset managers. Huwiler has more than 30 years of private banking and asset management experience. His career started at Citibank (currency trading), followed by positions at Credit Suisse (currency trading and relationship management) and Lombard Odier, Gibraltar, where he spent 16 years as head of private banking services. In his most recent role, Huwiler was chief investment officer at a multi-billion single family office in Luxembourg.

CFA Society UK, the society of investment professionals, appointed four new fellows: Deb Clarke, ASIP, NED, EMEA board member of Blackrock and member of the CFA UK Advisory Board; Matt Lonergan, CFA, former CFA UK board member and treasurer; Daniel Murray, CFA, former CFA UK board chair and CEO of EFGAM Switzerland; and Sacha Sadan, ASIP, director of ESG, FCA.

Wealth management firm Saltus appointed Kathryn Kendall as chief people officer. Kendall, who has more than 20 years’ experience in HR, started her career at the University of Portsmouth. She has served in a number of senior roles, including head of HR at Candyking UK. In 2014, Kendall joined the employee benefits and experience platform, Benefex, as head of HR, rising to HR director and then chief people officer.

Ocorian, a provider of trust, administration and fiduciary services for companies, institutions, individuals and funds, appointed Matt Litten as head of private clients in Guernsey. Litten, who joined from PraxisIFM, was recently managing director responsible for managing and developing ultra-high net worth client relationships, and contributing to PraxisIFM’s strategic plans.

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SG Kleinwort Hambros, the UK private bank, made four senior board appointments. Konstantin Graf von Schweinitz was appointed as chairman of SG Kleinwort Hambros. He replaced Stuart Barnett, who has been the chairman since 2017 and retired. The role of chair of the risk committee transferred to Anne Ewing, an existing independent non-executive director with extensive board level experience. Joanna Hall joined SG Kleinwort Hambros as an independent non-executive director to help strengthen the board with her digital and marketing expertise. Hall, who was previously an independent non-executive director at Brewin Dolphin Ltd, serves on two other boards. 

SGKH also welcomed Demetrio Salorio, group country head, UK and Ireland, and CEO of Societe Generale (SG) London Branch, to the board as a non-executive director. 

Brooks Macdonald announced three appointments in its senior team. Leanne Barnham joined in the newly-created role of global head of marketing, reporting to Sarah Ackland, global head of distribution and marketing. Barnham has more than 15 years’ experience in investment management. She joined from Ninety One where she was head of UK marketing. 

Andrew Bennie and Rachael Marsden were appointed as the heads of investment management for Manchester and Leeds, respectively, in recognition of their important contribution to the Manchester and Leeds teams.

Bennie, who has been at Brooks Macdonald for 13 years, was promoted to senior investment director last year. Marsden, who joined Brooks Macdonald in 2019, was also promoted to senior investment director last year. 

Crestbridge expanded its Luxembourg team with two senior hires. Teodora Croitoru was appointed as head of compliance, fund services, and Emmanuelle Poret was appointed as head of client onboarding, fund services and ManCo.

Synpulse, a services provider to banks and insurers, named newly-elected partners: Inge Halim in Indonesia, Marco Fell in Switzerland, Pallav Kapur in the US, and Rahul Bansal and Yash Shah, both in Singapore. The group also elected its fourth managing partner, Salomon Wettstein.

Family Office Exchange, or FOX, made several appointments; three of its management team also left the organisation. David Toth was named as president of membership; Gaby Griffin was appointed to the newly-created role of managing director of council memberships, and Scott Muench took on the newly-formed role of managing director of core memberships. Kent Lawson became FOX’s chief technology officer. Jonathan Tunner, Scott Winget and Tony Gebely left the FOX management team.

MDR Mayfair, a private family advisory service, welcomed three expert advisors as part of its expanded regulatory resilience service. Tthe new service helps clients navigate the complexities of regulation and compliance. The new advisors – Michael Bulloch, John Dodds and Paul Martin – have experience of compliance, governance and reporting for international private banks.

LGT Wealth Management appointed Lewis Gregory as portfolio manager in its Model Portfolio Service team. Gregory was previously an investment manager at Mercer Private Wealth where he was responsible for managing multi-asset portfolios and goal-oriented portfolios for UK-based high net worth individuals.

Sussex Partners, a global investment advisory firm that specialises in hedge funds and alternative investment asset classes, appointed Kanji Kikuchi as a partner to support the firm’s outreach in the Japanese market. Kikuchi joined from Credit Suisse Securities in Tokyo where he was head of fund solutions for the firm’s private banking clients. Prior to Credit Suisse, Kikuchi worked in alternative investment sales and structured solutions at Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas and, earlier, at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.

BCB Group, a Switzerland-based provider of business accounts and trading services for the digital asset economy, appointed two new executives to join its leadership team. They were Jean-Jacques Le Bon as chief strategy officer and Ian Moore as chief banking officer.

Le Bon joined from the B-part consulting group, which he co-founded 12 years ago and turned into a fintech consultancy firm. Moore has more than 20 years' experience from tier 1 global banks and has spent time working at a fintech. His background is in cash, foreign exchange and liquidity management. He spent time at Citi, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and lastly Paysafe Group.  

Saffery Trust (Cayman) appointed Natasha Bunting as associate director, corporate and yachts, in Cayman. Bunting joined from a Cayman Company Management office and has more than two decades of experience in corporate management services. 

Bunting is based in the firm’s Cayman office, working with Saffery Trust’s global network of specialist advisors, providing bespoke solutions for clients, including private individuals and corporate entities, holding luxury and non-standard assets.

UK private bank, Hampden & Co, made two C-suite appointments: Peter Craigie as chief risk officer, and Gordon Syme, who joined the firm’s executive management team as general counsel. Craigie was previously at Lloyds Banking Group, where he was chief risk officer for Islands Banking. He has spent over three decades in the retail banking, insurance, and building society sectors. Craigie replaced Alison Inverarity, who has retired from the chief risk officer role. 

Penny Lovell joined Citi Private Bank as a managing director. She works with select wealth clients. Lovell – who has been a judge for this news service’s European awards programme – has 25 years’ experience in the sector. Before joining Citigroup, Lovell was CEO of Sanlam Private Wealth, where she spent five years. Prior roles include head of private client, marketing and distribution at Close Brothers Asset Management as well as managing director roles at Rothschild Wealth Management and senior roles at Fleming Family & Partners and Coutts.

Micro-investing platform Wombat appointed former abrdn chief executive Richard Charnock to join its board of directors. Charnock is the firm’s first non-executive director. He retired from abrdn in May 2022 after leading the discretionary business for 15 years. He has more than four decades’ experience in the wealth and asset management space. Charnock previously served as CEO of Williams de Broe and chief executive of Lloyds TSB Private Banking, Lloyds TSB IFA, and Lloyds TSB Stockbrokers.
 

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Law firm Stephenson Harwood added private wealth specialist Beatrice Puoti. She joined as a partner based in the firm's London office. Puoti's primary focus is on international tax, trusts and estate planning for UK and non-UK resident and domiciled clients. She is experienced in advising financial institutions and trustees on international trust and tax matters, and on the ownership, structuring and acquisition of UK and non-UK real estate. Formerly Puoti worked at Burges Salmon, where she was a partner and head of the firm's private wealth sector.

UK law firm Burges Salmon appointed private client partner Suzanna Harvey as the new head of its private wealth sector area. Harvey specialises in tax, trusts, immigration and estate planning for international clients (both UK resident and non-resident) and provides tax advice to a wide range of clients, from ultra-high net worth individuals to leading private banks and other financial institutions. 

Law firm Farrer & Co elected Jeremy Gordon as its new senior partner. Previously head of the disputes team, Gordon took over the reins from Anne-Marie Piper, who retired.

Stonehage Fleming, the international multi-family office, appointed Ed Hawthorne as director of Stonehage Fleming Dealing and Treasury Services (Jersey) Limited. Hawthorne is based in Jersey and reports directly to Stefan Flachsmann, Stonehage Fleming’s Global head of Financial Services. Hawthorne took over from Graeme Gill who decided to step down as head of treasury services in April to assume a senior relationship manager role within Stonehage Fleming Group Financial Services. Hawthorne has more than 15 years’ experience in finance and treasury operations and dealing. He joined from Atrium European Real Estate where he was group head of treasury. 

Suntera Global appointed Angela Morris to lead its Jersey corporate team. Morris joined Suntera Global in 2018 and was most recently a director within the firm’s Private Wealth division. 

JTC appointed Dean Blackburn as group head of institutional client services. After acting as interim group head of ICS since October, Blackburn took the position permanently. He joined JTC in 2019, initially as group director in the CEO office and, from July 2020, as chief commercial officer.

Saffery Champness appointed Gareth Norris as a partner in its Peterborough office. Norris joined from Grant Thornton where he was a director and responsible individual (RI) within the audit practice. He was also a leader of the national Not-for-Profit Team.

Maples Group appointed Cristiane Matos as a senior vice president in the liquidations and fiduciary team. Matos, who is based in the British Virgin Islands, has more than two decades of experience as a lawyer and senior manager, handling matters across an array of related practice areas including intellectual property, and offshore companies and trusts, with focus on fiduciary services.

Vistra, provider of advisory and administrative support to capital market, fund, corporate and private wealth clients, made leadership appointments and investments in its technological capabilities to strengthen its Loan Market Solutions (LMS), support to its private debt and structured finance clients.

Mahen Surnam joined as director, Loan Market Solutions to oversee the continued growth and development of the LMS proposition. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the loan agency market, structured finance and private debt.

Scott Youd joined as the technology lead for Vistra Capital Markets. He is responsible for the technology systems used by Vistra’s Capital Markets platform, including Solvas|Asset ManagementTM. Youd, who has more than 20 years’ experience covering accounting, funds, loans and securitisation, also has a strong understanding of debt capital markets’ transactions.

Coupland Cardiff Asset Management expanded its investment team and capabilities by appointing a new Global Emerging Markets (GEM) Equity team. Jonathan Asante, lead fund manager, an established emerging markets investor and one of Stewart Investors’ previous managing partners, was joined by his former Stewart Investors team members Chris Grey, Joanna Kay, Tom Prew and Dominic St George.

AnaCap Financial Partners appointed partners Nassim Cherchali and Tassilo Arnhold as co-managing partners. Cherchali and Arnhold led AnaCap’s execution of its overall investment strategy, focused on lower mid-market founder-owned financial services, technology and related business services companies in Europe, since 2016. Joe Giannamore, chief executive officer and chief investment officer, became group executive chairman. 

Asia-Pacific
Singapore-regulated MetaComp, the digital assets platform, appointed financial services veteran John Kang as chief financial officer. Kang is responsible for leading the strategic planning, implementation, and managing all the firm's financial activities alongside executive chairman and co-founder, Dr Bo Bai. Prior to this, Kang was CFO of EMQ Inc, a global payments services firm focused on the digital economy, where he oversaw several functions, including accounting, finance, and treasury functions across multiple markets and subsidiaries. 

Standard Chartered made a number of top-level leadership changes in its consumer, private and business banking unit in Asia.

Kate Lin, who is head, CPBB Taiwan, joined the global credit cards and personal loans team as global head, credit card new customer acquisition. Reporting to Manoj Piplani, global head CCPL, she is based in Taipei and will relocate to Singapore in 2024.

Sebastian Hia, general manager, affluent coverage for onshore, Singapore, succeeded Lin as head, CPBB Taiwan. He relocated to Taipei, reporting to Samir Subberwal, and Ian Anderson, CEO, Taiwan.

Jeffrey Tan, who is head, CPBB Indonesia, returned to Singapore. He was appointed head, affluent coverage for onshore, Singapore, and reports to Jessie Li, head, CPBB Singapore.

Parag Dhingra, head of CCPL Hong Kong and regional head CC Greater China & North Asia, became head, CPBB Indonesia. He relocated to Jakarta and reports to Samir Subberwal, and Andrew Chia, cluster CEO, Indonesia and ASEAN markets (Australia, Brunei & the Philippines).

Anshul Sabherwal, who is global head, credit card new customer acquisition, was appointed head, CCPL and personal segment, Hong Kong. He relocated to Hong Kong, reporting to Stephen Man, head, CPBB Hong Kong.

Citigroup named Matt Read as Citibank Singapore's retail banking head. Read reports to Brendan Carney, CEO of Citibank Singapore, and Shyam Sambamurthy, who is international head of the Citigold and Citigold Private Client businesses. 

Read joined Citigroup in 2017 as head of sales and distribution for 17 markets across Asia-Pacific and EMEA, overseeing sales productivity across Citi Priority, Citigold and CPC segments. He was also responsible for managing the digitisation and transformation of Citi’s branch network.

Anil Wadhwani joined Prudential plc as chief executive, as part of a move of senior management to Asia. As a result, Mark FitzPatrick, chief executive since 1 April 2022, stepped down from the board. As previously confirmed, FitzPatrick remains as an advisor for a period. Wadhwani has more than 30 years of financial services' experience, predominantly in Asia. Most recently, he was CEO of Manulife's Asia region for five years. Prior to this, he spent 25 years with Citi working across Asia-Pacific, EMEA and the US in a number of consumer financial services roles.

Findex Group, the Australia-based provider of integrated financial advisory and accounting services, appointed Lianne Bolton as chief financial officer. With more than 30 years’ sector experience, Bolton previously worked as CFO at Maia Financial and Credabl. She also worked at Investec Bank and Bank of Queensland. Her career has included stints in South Africa, Australia and the UK.

Credit Suisse Group’s Singapore chief executive officer Wong Chien Chien left the bank. Wong left to pursue outside interests. She was replaced by Rehan Anwer, who took on the role in addition to his job as CEO South-east Asia.

First Sentier Investors appointed Charles Wong as director of its intermediary business. Singapore-based Wong is responsible for developing the business strategies of independently branded Stewart Investors, part of FSI’s investment teams. He joined from Aviva Investors Asia, where he was the head of wholesale, Asia. In his new role, Wong reports to Christy Goh, head of distribution, Southeast Asia, FSI and Alex Tam, head of intermediary business, North Asia, FSI.

Capital Group appointed Katharine Dryer as equity lead, Europe and Asia client group. Dryer, who has more than 25 years of industry experience, was most recently deputy investment chief at Jupiter Asset Management where she served in a number of key roles for nearly 10 years.

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St James’s Place appointed one of its senior figures, Oliver Wickham, as Asia partnership director. He has been head of business for Hong Kong. In his new role, he continues his regulatory responsibilities as CEO St James’s Place (Hong Kong) Ltd in addition to taking responsibility for the SJP Partnership across Asia. Gary Harvey, CEO of St James’s Place (Singapore) Private Limited, will step down from the business later in the year, after wrapping up several projects and providing a handover, to focus on other opportunities. He led the business over the past five years. 

BlackRock appointed one of its senior figures in Asia, Tiffany Hsieh, as head of Taiwan. A citizen of the jurisdiction, she has worked for the US asset management titan for almost 14 years. Her predecessor, Amy Yen, left BlackRock in October 2022 for personal reasons. Hsieh was most recently responsible for BlackRock’s cross-border and onshore distribution business in China. She started her tenure with the firm in 2009 as head of iShares for Taiwan.

Deutsche Bank appointed Kevin King and Stella Lau as managing directors and market heads of North Asia Wealth Management. Based in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively, they report to Kanas Chan, head of IPB North Asia. 

King joined from BNP Paribas where he has been the head of the China market. Prior to that, he was the global market manager of the China team at Citi Private Bank. He has also worked for Bank Sarasin, UBS and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Lau joined from Credit Suisse in Singapore where she was market leader for China. She began her wealth management career at Citibank and has served in China market lead roles also with JPMorgan, UBS and Standard Chartered.

Synpulse, a services provider to banks and insurers, named newly-elected partners: Inge Halim in Indonesia, Marco Fell in Switzerland, Pallav Kapur in the US, and Rahul Bansal and Yash Shah both in Singapore. The group also elected its fourth managing partner, Salomon Wettstein. Halim, who has been with the firm since 2020, is head of the Jakarta office. She has more than 30 years of experience in IT and financial services much of which was gained during a long career at IBM.

Fell started his career as a consultant with Synpulse in 2007. He rose through the ranks and has been leading the Health Insurance Practice in Switzerland since 2019 where he spearheaded many large transformation projects focusing on (health) insurance core processes and IT systems, alongside his military duties as colonel, general staff of the Swiss Armed Forces. Kapur, who joined Synpulse in 2016, is the head of the banking practice and Synpulse8 in the Americas. In 2014, Bansal joined Synpulse in Singapore straight from university. He developed his career within the company to attain partner status this year. Bansal has focused on private banking transformation projects and recently led the build of a full-blown new wave digital bank in Singapore. Wettstein, joined Konrad Niggli, Yves Roesti and Silvan StĂĽssi as a managing partner, is co-CEO of Synpulse8, as well as the regional head of North Asia. 

A former top EFG Bank figure in Singapore moved to HSBC Private Banking. Manoj Ramarao took up the post of managing director, head of global India business. Before joining HSBC, Ramarao was MD, head of global south Asia for EFG Bank in Singapore. Prior to that, he was executive director and team head, sub-continent and NRI for Southeast Asia at Bank of Singapore from June 2008 to September 2019. He started his career at ABN AMRO.

Deutsche Bank appointed Serene Wee, a former longstanding senior Credit Suisse figure, as managing director and senior client partner in Southeast Asia Wealth Management. Wee, who joined Deutsche Bank’s International Private Bank (IPB), reports to Anurag Mahesh, vice chairman IPB for Asia-Pacific and interim head for IPB for Southeast Asia. At Credit Suisse, Wee spent 19 years focusing on the UHNW client segment.

Sussex Partners, a global investment advisory firm that specialises in hedge funds and alternative investment asset classes, appointed Kanji Kikuchi as a partner to support the firm’s outreach in the Japanese market. Kikuchi joined from Credit Suisse Securities in Tokyo where he was head of fund solutions for the firm’s private banking clients. Prior to Credit Suisse, Kikuchi worked in alternative investment sales and structured solutions at Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas and, earlier, at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.

SEBA Bank, the “crypto bank” based in Switzerland, appointed financial services figure Amy Yu as its new chief executive for the Asia-Pacific part of the business. She took over from Sam Lin who left the organisation. Yu is initially located in Singapore. With more than 15 years’ experience in financial services, including capital markets, trading and liquidity provision, she has worked for firms in the crypto industry, a global derivatives exchange and prime broker. Before this phase of her career, she supported the development of JP Morgan’s prime services in the Asia market.

GAM Investments appointed Fanwei Zeng to join its Asian equities team. She is based in Hong Kong. Prior to joining GAM, Fanwei Zeng worked for investment and asset manager Aplus Partners in Hong Kong; she was previously an investment banking analyst at China’s real estate group, Kaisa Group, in Shenzhen.

JTC appointed Dean Blackburn as group head of institutional client services. After acting as interim group head of ICS since October 2022, he took over the role permanently. Blackburn joined JTC in 2019, initially as group director in the CEO office and, from July 2020, as chief commercial officer. He was promoted to JTC’s group holdings board in 2021. He has more than 30 years’ industry experience.

Hong Kong-based ZA Bank appointed Ronald Lu as chief executive and executive director. Lu succeeded Rockson Hsu who stepped down as CEO and executive director of ZA Bank to pursue new opportunities. Lu joined ZA International, the parent company of ZA Bank, as chief strategy officer in February 2022, and later became chief risk officer of ZA Bank. He has more than two decades of experience in banking and finance, ranging from risk management, sales and marketing to developing fintech products.

Indosuez appointed two wealth management bankers, Diana Hong and Elina Yan. With over 30 years of experience in the wealth management industry, Hong joined the North Asia team co cover Greater China as executive director and team head of North Asia. She started her career in Citibank Taiwan and subsequently moved to Hong Kong, where she headed the sales and wealth management teams in both SinoPac Financial Holdings and UBS AG, covering Taiwan and China. 

Yan, who also joined as executive director of North Asia, gained nearly 20 years of experience in corporate banking and private banking in various financial institutions. During her time in Standard Chartered Bank, Yan was in the wholesale banking team where she served corporate customers across project finance and trade finance; she was also involved in clients’ company treasury solutions.

Value Partners Group Limited appointed Sean Chang and Gordon IP Chang as co-chief investment officers, fixed income. They report to Louis So, co-chairman and co-chief investment officer of the group. Gordon Chang is based in Hong Kong, whilst Sean Chang is based in Singapore.

Sean Chang joined from Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Company Limited, where he was most recently head of fixed Income. He spent six years with Baring Asset Management (Asia) Limited as head of Asia Debt Investment, specialising in Chinese Mainland research strategies and China credit decisions, prior to joining Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Company Limited. He also held a number of senior positions in Halbis Capital, Mirae Asset Global Investments, Hang Seng Investment Management, Invesco Asset Management Asia, HSBC Private Bank and HSBC Asset Management.

Gordon Chang started his career in 1994 and has 28 years of industry experience.

Sullivan & Cromwell moved Chris Beatty, partner, to the Asia-Pacific region to bolster its finance, special situations and private credit practice in the region. Beatty is based in the firm’s Sydney office with a secondary office in Hong Kong supporting his work across the region. Prior to his time in the Asia-Pacific region, Beatty was based in the firm’s London office from 2014 to 2022, before which he was resident in its New York and Sydney offices.

New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority appointed Sharon Thompson to join its newly-formed enterprise leadership team as executive director – transformation and operational delivery. Thompson has extensive, senior leadership experience in both the New Zealand public sector and financial services industry. She is joining the FMA from Inland Revenue, where she was deputy commissioner for the Customer and Compliance Services (Individuals) group. 

Tina Tong joined abrdn – formerly known as Standard Life Aberdeen – as head of wholesale distribution, Hong Kong. In her newly-created role, she reports to David Hanzl, head of wholesale, Asia-Pacific. Tong, whose career spans more than 20 years, was most recently the vice president for distribution at Matthews Asia. 
 

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North America
Investment firm Cambridge Associates named Harinder Soin as chief data officer and Adam Lester as head of corporate strategy – both were newly-formed posts. Soin reports to Jason Roberts, chief technology officer and Lester reports to the firm’s chief executive, David Druley.

 

At Cambridge Associates since 2016, Soin had built up more than 20 years’ experience before joining the firm. He became Cambridge Associates’ first chief data officer in 2019. Lester works from the firm’s New York office. Lester, who joined the firm in November 2022, has more than a decade of strategic and business development experience across financial services.

Merrill Private Wealth Management, part of Bank of America, announced a successor to Don Plaus, a senior executive who recently decided to retire after 32 years at the firm. Lindsay Hans succeeded Plaus as private wealth management head for international, and institutional business. Hans led its Northeast and Mid-Atlantic divisions over the last six years. 

Separately, Keith Glenfield became Merrill’s Northeast division executive, succeeding Hans. Prior to this appointment, Glenfield was head of investment solutions and personal retirement. He joined the firm 27 years ago.

Nancy Fahmy expanded her leadership responsibilities and became the sole head of Merrill’s investment solutions group. Most recently, Fahmy led its alternative investments area. She is also on the board of The Institute for Portfolio Alternatives.

DayMark Wealth Partners appointed Jacob Krecic and Justin Fitchko as managing partners, and Martin Hopkins as senior managing director. They were accompanied by Kristine Cameron, Stephanie Gordon, and Justin Michlovic, all directors – Client Relations. They operate from DayMark’s two newest office locations in Westlake and Pepper Pike, Ohio. Previously, Krecic, Fitchko, and Hopkins led the Krecic Fitchko Wealth Management Team at Wells Fargo. 

KKR announced that Pete Stavros and Nate Taylor were appointed as global co-heads of KKR’s private equity business. Stavros and Taylor work with regional PE leadership and teams around the world. 

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co appointed three new general partners: Thomas Davis, Christopher Gothard, and Justin Reed. Davis joined BBH in 2012 and oversees its New York, Latin America, and Chicago private banking offices. Prior to joining BBH, Davis worked at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Management division. He is located in the Chicago office.

Gothard, who joined BBH in 2002, served in a number of roles within its foreign exchange business in London and Hong Kong in addition to serving as the office head for London. He took on responsibility for the global markets group, and is based in London.

Reed joined BBH in 2020 and serves as the co-chief investment officer in private banking. He co-leads the investment research group, which is responsible for manager selection, capital allocation, and investment decisions across the private banking client portfolios. Reed joined BBH with over 15 years of investment experience from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO), and JP Morgan. He is located in the New York office.

Raymond James welcomed financial advisor Rob Bedinghaus and his business to the firm’s independent advisor channel. Bedinghaus Wealth Planning is located in Lebanon, Ohio. Bedinghaus was joined by senior client service co-ordinator Susan Adams. Previously, Bedinghaus managed more than $130 million in client assets at Edward Jones.

Raymond James Financial Institutions Division welcomed advisors Jens Fonnesbeck and Christopher Doll in Boulder, Colorado, to First Investments & Planning, the wealth management team of First National Bank of Omaha and current FID-affiliated branch. The advisors previously managed $107 million in client assets at US Bancorp. They, along with client relationship associate Aaron Sandry, joined financial advisor Katherine Stinson and client relationship associate Gina Hostetler in FNBO’s Boulder branch.

Alex. Brown, a division of Raymond James, recently welcomed financial advisor Daniel Laiter in Miami, Florida. Laiter, who previously managed more than $250 million in client assets at Merrill Lynch, serves high net worth individuals, their families and businesses. He is joined Alex. Brown’s Brickell Avenue branch, headed by Eric Termini, regional executive for South Florida. 

TIAA, the investment house, named former senior HSBC figure Tara Latini as its wealth distribution head. Latini is the former head of wealth and personal banking for HSBC USA in New York. Prior to this, Latini served as the bank’s country head of wealth and personal banking in Malaysia and as global transformation program director based in London. TIAA also named two other senior leaders who will join the wealth management business:

-- Rich Immesberger was named senior managing director, president and chief executive of TIAA Trust, and the chief fiduciary officer. Immesberger is the former president of Pacific Premier Trust.
-- Niladri “Neel” Mukherjee was named the chief investment officer for wealth management. Prior to his new role, Mukherjee was the head of portfolio strategy in the chief investment office of Bank of America for more than five years.

Family Office Exchange, or FOX, announced a number of appointments while it also said three of its management team had left.

David Toth was named as president of membership; Gaby Griffin was appointed as managing director of council memberships – newly-created role, and Scott Muench took on the newly-formed role of managing director of core memberships. Kent Lawson is FOX’s chief technology officer. Jonathan Tunner, Scott Winget and Tony Gebely left the FOX management team.

Toth has been with FOX for more than eight years, most recently as interim co-president of membership; prior to this, he was a FOX member for seven years in his leadership role at PNC Financial. Griffin has been at FOX for more than three years, most recently as interim co-president of membership. Griffin, who has worked at Capital Group, LaSalle Bank, and Abbot Downing (the old UHNW business of Wells Fargo), has worked in the sector for 25 years. Muench has been at FOX for two years, and before that, spent almost 25 years at Northern Trust, serving in leadership roles in investment management, investment governance and UHNW relationship management. Lawson has been at FOX for almost two years.
 
Northern Trust appointed Nikè Anani as director of Next Gen Advisory for Northern Trust Wealth Management in a newly-created role. A speaker and published author on wealth and values transfer strategies, Anani previously founded and was CEO of Nikè Anani Practice, a consulting service for Next Gen services in Austin. She was also CEO and fouunder of a family office in Lagos, Nigeria, and held leadership posts at Deloitte in London.

Anani, who earned an economics degree from University College London, is a chartered accountant, has a certificate in Family Business and Family Wealth Advising from FFI, and is a fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants.

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Russell Investments, a global investment solutions firm, selected Zach Buchwald to serve as chief executive officer and chairman of the firm’s board of directors. Buckwald, who is based in the firm’s global headquarters in Seattle, is succeeding Michelle Seitz who departed late last year. Buchwald, formerly a managing director at BlackRock, was the head of its institutional business in North America, responsible for delivering BlackRock’s investment capabilities to the firm’s institutional clients.

Fiduciary Trust International, a global wealth manager and wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton, appointed Craig Richards as chief administrative officer. He most recently served as director of tax services, and maintains oversight of the firm’s tax services team, which he has led since 2006. Richards, who joined Fiduciary Trust International in 1984, serves on the firm’s executive, management, and operating committees, and is chairman of the directors trust committee. 

Saffery Trust (Cayman) appointed Natasha Bunting as associate director, corporate and yachts, in Cayman. Bunting, who joined from a Cayman Company Management office, has more than two decades of experience in corporate management services. She specializes in providing domiciliary services for offshore companies and registration and management services for ships, yachts and aircrafts. 

Crestbridge appointed Anthony Yabut as director of tax in its New Jersey office as part of the firm's strategy to expand and enhance its client proposition in the US market. Yabut has worked in financial services for 22 years. 

Sanctuary Wealth, the US group, welcomed Brandi Cooper to its network by tucking her practice in with G Squared Private Wealth based in College Station, Texas. Cooper began her financial services career at Morgan Stanley in 2017, where she specialized in advising high net worth individuals, families, and business owners. 

Savant Wealth Management, the RIA, appointed Patrick Lawlor as mergers and acquisitions head – a sign that M&A is a significant focus for the organization. Lawlor most recently served as president and head of M&A at The Mather Group, a wealth management firm in Chicago. In his new role at Savant, Lawlor works with chief executive Brent Brodeski to lead the firm’s inorganic growth efforts.

Gavin Spitzner, a prominent advisor, technology expert and president of Wealth Consulting Partners, died at the age of 57. He served in senior roles at firms such as Envestnet and launched Wealth Consulting Partners in 2015.

BNP Paribas Asset Management, part of Paris-listed BNP Paribas, appointed a new deputy head of US equities. Geoff Dailey took over the role from Pamela Woo following her planned retirement at the end of June this year. Woo has worked in the sector for 30 years, including almost 20 years at BNPP AM. In Dailey’s case, he has more than 20 years’ experience in the financial services and asset management industry. He had worked alongside Woo as a senior portfolio manager since 2014. He is based in Boston.