People Moves

Skandia Appoints Head Of Specialist Sales

Stephen Little Reporter London 24 June 2014

Skandia Appoints Head Of Specialist Sales

Skandia, part of Old Mutual Wealth, has appointed Tony Harris as head of specialist sales in as part of its strategy to expand the specialist sales support it provides to financial advisors.

Skandia, part of Old Mutual Wealth, has appointed Tony Harris as head of specialist sales in as part of its strategy to expand the specialist sales support it provides to financial advisors.

In the newly-created role, Harris will lead Skandia’s 12 strong team responsible for pensions, protection, offshore, trusts and investment solutions, reporting to Scott Goodsir, managing director of UK distribution.

Harris previously worked as national sales director for Standard Life and investments director for Standard Life Investments. Most recently, he has been working as an independent business consultant helping investment and advisory businesses develop product launch and strategic distribution plans.

“At Skandia we pride ourselves on the high quality service we offer to advisers and customers. We believe that advisers should have access to a highly skilled team of proposition specialists, who can help them build suitable investment strategies based on customer needs. Tony has a wealth of experience in this industry and I look forward to working with him to strengthen our advisor facing support,” said Goodsir.

Earlier this month, Skandia appointed Gower Wisdom as product director, reporting to Carlton Hood, customer solutions director at Old Mutual Wealth. He replaces Darren Sharkey, who has been appointed to the newly-created role of director of finance.

In April, Skandia appointed Tom Hawkins as the newly-created role of head of UK proposition marketing.

London and Johannesburg-listed bank and asset manager Old Mutual said in March that it was selling Skandia Germany and Skandia Austria to a Cinven and Hannover Re acquisition vehicle for €220 million ($302.7 million) as part of it plans simplify its operations in Europe and focus on a select number of core growth markets.

Old Mutual also recently confirmed that vice chairman Peter Mann will retire to pursue new challenges outside of the company. Mann will stay with the business until the mid-year to ensure a smooth handover of his responsibilities.

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