BMB, the sovereign merchant bank, has appointed Chris Walker as global head of institutional sales and marketing. 

Mr Walker is based in the firm’s London office and reports to David Gibson-Moore, head of wealth management.  In addition to his other responsibilities, Mr Walker is to work with BMB’s acquisition team, looking at financial services businesses in the US and Europe. 

Mr Walker joins BMB from Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, where he was executive vice president in London responsible for international clients. Prior to this he spent nine years with Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, initially as head of global business development, and more recently as managing director of international business.

Rayo Withanage, chairman of BMB, said: “At a time when the largest Wall Street institutions are retrenching, we are aggressively hiring leading industry professionals. BMB is committed to being a traditional merchant bank with sovereign investors that combines financial service leadership with eastern values. Chris is part of our commitment to being a bridge between our key markets.”

The BMB Group is an asset management firm that provides alternative investments to the Islamic world’s ruling families, high net worth individuals, sovereign bodies and institutions.  BMB is majority owned by its senior management, with additional backing by investors from the sovereign families of the Islamic world, and has offices in Brunei, London, New York, Kuala Lumpur and the Middle East.