February was a busy move on a number of fronts, such as a series of comings and goings at Family Office Exchange.

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.

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.