The latest moves in North American wealth management.

CIBC
Toronto-headquartered banking group CIBC has brought in the following professionals have joined its CIBC Private Wealth Management team:

-- Rich Arnold, managing director and senior wealth advisor, St. Louis, MO;

-- Jacqueline Griffith Crowley, managing director and private wealth market leader, Minneapolis, MN;

-- Peter Kugeler, managing director and senior private banker, Boston, MA; and 

-- James “Jim” Thompson managing director and private banker, Cleveland, OH.

Arnold joins CIBC Private Wealth Management with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. As a senior wealth advisor, he serves as a leading coordinator of balance sheet management for successful families and businesses, integrating liquidity, credit and banking services with asset management, trust service and estate planning. Prior to joining our firm, Arnold worked at various privately held and international money center banks throughout the St. Louis area.

Crowley brings with her over a decade of industry experience. In her role, she provides clients with private banking services - custom credit and investment solutions - in addition to helping them develop their estate and legacy plans. She works with both private equity professionals, as well as owners and executives of middle-market companies throughout Minnesota. Crowley joins CIBC Private Wealth Management from City National Bank, an RBC Company.

Kugeler joins CIBC Bank USA with more than 14 years of experience in the industry. In this role, he will work closely with CIBC Atlantic Trust relationship managers and their clients to advise on CIBC Bank USA’s banking and lending capabilities, focusing primarily on the strategic use of debt and deposits. Prior to joining CIBC Bank USA, Kugeler was a member of Morgan Stanley’s high net worth lending advisory team, where he was responsible for advising on complex lending strategies in the New England and Midwest regions. 

Thompson has over 30 years of industry experience. As a private banker for CIBC Private Wealth Management, he is responsible for creating customized credit, asset management and financial planning solutions for closely held business owners, corporate executives and affluent families. Previously, Thompson served as a senior vice president and private wealth advisor for Citizens Bank in Cleveland, Ohio.  He also served as vice president, director of private bank sales with Fifth Third Bank in Cleveland, Ohio.

Blackstone Alternative Asset Management
New York-headquartered Blackstone has announced J Tomilson Hill, president and chief executive of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, will be transitioning to a new role as chairman of BAAM.  John McCormick will succeed Hill as president and CEO of BAAM. 

Hill will step back from his day-to-day role running BAAM, but will maintain strong relationships with BAAM’s investor base and hedge fund relationships.  He will also provide ongoing strategic advice to the senior management team and remain active in minority interest investments in hedge funds.  He will continue to serve as vice chairman of Blackstone and as a member of the firm’s board of directors and management committee.

Since 2000, Hill has served as President and CEO of BAAM and became the firm’s vice chairman in 2007.

McCormick is currently senior managing director and head of global business strategy for the hedge fund solutions group. McCormick joined BAAM in 2005 and has overall responsibility for global marketing and client services functions in addition to overseeing its liquid alternatives business, GP Stakes business, and its hedge fund seeding business.

His career spans 25 years and includes roles at McKinsey & Company, where he worked on senior level strategy issues for a wide range of financial services industry clients. 

HD Vest Financial Services
Wealth management firm HD Vest Financial Services has appointed Crystal Clifford as chief operating officer.

Clifford is based in HD Vest's Irving headquarters and reports to Bob Oros, chief executive. She is responsible for overseeing brokerage operations, administration, compliance, technology, servicing, partner support, and trading units across the organization.

She has more than 25 years of experience working in the financial services industry. Clifford was most recently senior vice president of technology at LPL Financial, where she led the risk and regulatory technology group responsible for the firm's anti-money laundering, compliance, and surveillance platforms.

Scarinci Hollenbeck
Law firm Scarinci Hollenbeck has appointed Paul Lieberman as partner.

Lieberman will be located in Scarinci Hollenbeck’s Red Bank, New Jersey and Manhattan, New York law offices. He will represent clients on all aspects of the financial services industry. He will also counsel clients on various issues related to formation and governance, regulation, litigation, compliance and risk management, transactions, supervision, cybersecurity and privacy. 

Prior to joining Scarinci Hollenbeck, Lieberman was partner at Eaton & Van Winkle, where his practice focused on administrative, regulatory compliance matters, transactional matters, and all aspects of commercial litigation and ADR.  He has over 30 years of legal expertise.