Chandler has more than 30 years of investment and wealth management experience working with ultra high net worth families and institutions. He has transferred to Houston from Bessemer’s Washington, DC, office, where he was a managing director and senior client advisor.

“Bessemer has worked with clients in Houston and the surrounding areas for many years,” said Bessemer's chief executive, Marc Stern. “As our relationships broadened and our work with the trust and estate, tax, and legal communities grew, it made sense to establish a physical presence here.”

Kevin Bourke, senior vice president and wealth advisor for Bessemer, is also based in the Houston office. He is responsible for business development and client relationships in Texas as well as throughout the Southwest. Bourke has been at Bessemer for three years, with a decade of experience working with ultra high net worth clients.

Chandler and Bourke are joined by David Parker, a well-known oil and gas asset management expert, as senior vice president and head of oil and gas advisory. Parker has worked in Houston for nearly 35 years, with over 30 years of experience in the energy industry - working with producers and landowners. He has joined Bessemer from Northern Trust, where he was a senior vice president.

Bessemer's entry into Houston and the addition of Parker reflects how The Lone Star State is increasingly regarded as a lucrative market for wealth managers. Indeed, the controversial “fracking” revolution in energy, for example, has - globally but particularly in the US - gained a lot of attention and has led to a surge of energy wealth.

According to the US Wealth Report 2014 by RBC Wealth Management and Capgemini,  the Texas cities of Dallas and Houston led US high net worth individual population growth - at 20 and 18 per cent respectively – and wealth growth, at 24 and 22 per cent respectively, last year . 

Founded in 1907 by Henry Phipps, the co-founder of Carnegie Steel, Bessemer Trust oversees $97.5 billion for more than 2,200 clients.