A roundup of moves in the wealth management industry from around the world.

UK, Europe, various international wealth management jurisdictions
ZEDRA appointed Dean Blackburn as its new CEO, based in Jersey. He took the helm from Ivo Hemelraad, who became a non-executive director on the group holdings board. Blackburn, who joined the business as deputy CEO in September 2024, has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience across the financial and professional services sectors. Previously, he served as chief commercial officer and group head of institutional client services at JTC.

Collas Crill appointed Elena Gogh as group partner in its private client and trusts team in Guernsey. Gogh, who joined from Bedell Cristin, advises trustees, individuals, financial institutions and family offices in relation to trust, succession planning and regulatory issues. She qualified as a solicitor in 2001.

Educational charity and professional body CISI (Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment) appointed Assad Malik, Chartered FCSI as president of CISI’s Swiss National Advisory Council (NAC). Malik, who is a management consultant in fintech advisory, engaged at UBS, has more than 20 years of experience in the wealth management and investments advisory sector.

CISI also announced that its investment director Robert Hughes-Penney had been elected as the next Sheriff of the City of London, taking office in September.

LLB Group appointed Wolfdieter Schnee to take over as head of the fund services Liechtenstein/Switzerland business area from 1 January 2026. He will be succeeding Bruno Schranz, who was due to retire at the end of June 2026.

GAM Investments appointed Francesca Contini as client manager in its UK wholesale distribution team. Contini has more than 10 years of experience in the financial service industry. Previously, she was at Pzena Investment Management, where she progressed from a sales support role to a client-facing position, advising intermediary clients.

Mourant, an international professional services firm with law at its core, appointed Tom Grogan as chief transformation officer. Grogan joined from Mishcon de Reya.

UK-based Winterflood Business Services, a B2B platform provider, appointed Thomas Lowe as its deputy head. Lowe – a member of the management committee – reports to Alex Kerry, director and head of WBS.

UK-listed Barclays appointed former HSBC senior figure Farzad Billimoria as the new head of the private bank in the United Arab Emirates, reporting to Annabelle Bryde, head of Barclays international private bank. Billimoria has 30 years of expertise in financial services; most recently, he was senior executive officer, and head of the private bank in the UAE at HSBC. He has lived and worked in the UAE for more than 20 years. Rasha Badawi, who previously held the UAE leadership position, remains at Barclays. 

Global asset manager Allianz Global Investors named Christian Schultz as chief economist. He is based in Frankfurt and reports to Michael Krautzberger, CIO public markets at AllianzGI. Prior to this, since 2021, Schultz worked at Citigroup Global Markets, where was deputy chief European economist, co-managing Citi’s European economics team covering Germany, Switzerland and the European Central Bank.

Coutts appointed a former Barclays Private Bank figure, Dalia Hammoudi, as managing director of Coutts International Markets. This is a London-based role; Hammoudi reports to Warren Thompson, head of Coutts International, family office and ultra-high net worth business. At Barclays, Hammoudi led its Middle East business. She has also worked at Citibank in client management and led teams across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East and North Africa regions. 

Hoxton Wealth appointed Hulya Gunay as a wealth planner, based in St Albans in the UK. Gunay has worked in financial services in a number of jurisdictions for two decades, starting in Turkey after graduating with a degree in mathematics. She is also a qualified personal transformation coach.

Quilter, an advisor platform, appointed Warren Vickers as commercial director reporting to chief distribution officer, Steve Gazard. Vickers was previously commercial director at The Openwork Partnership, where he was responsible for supporting its advisor network and central teams. 

GAM Holding, parent of GAM Investments, named one of its own senior figures, Albert Saporta, as the new group CEO. He succeeded Elmar Zumbuehl, who took up the post in October 2023. Zumbuehl will remain at GAM until the end of 2025 to support the handover. Separately, Tim Rainsford returned to the firm to head up its distribution efforts as group distribution officer. 

HSBC Asset Management, part of HSBC, appointed Dan Rudd as CEO of HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Ltd and head of UK Wholesale. With more than 30 years’ experience in the asset management industry, Rudd has been with HSBC Asset Management since 2005, most recently as head of Wholesale Northern Europe. He continues to be based in London and reports to Thorsten Michalik, CEO, Europe, UK and Americas.

European equity investment specialists, Viewforth Investment Partners joined London-based Pacific Asset Management. It was founded in 2018 by Richard Black; he was joined by partners Edward Wotherspoon and James Ferguson. they all became partners in Pacific’s new European equities division.

UK, Midlands-based BRI Wealth Management appointed Toni Meadows as head of investments. He joined the management board. Meadows has more than 30 years of investment industry experience; he served as chief investment officer at Omnis Investments, most recently at The Private Office.

Fidelity International appointed Marion Le Morhedec as global chief investment officer of fixed income. He spent two decades with AXA Investment Managers.

Schroders appointed Karine Szenberg as executive vice chair, whilst Matt Oomen joined Schroders as global head of client group.   

UBS in the UK appointed Michel Frey as head of UK high net worth business for the UK. Frey, who has more than 25 years of financial services experience, has held leadership posts in different client segments across Switzerland, Singapore, Monaco, and the UK. Chris Oliver decided to step down from his role as head for the UK high net worth business at UBS Global Wealth Management to pursue an opportunity outside the bank. He had worked at UBS for 15 years.

London-headquartered Saranac Partners, a private investment office, appointed Catherine Burr as a client advisor. She was previously with Umbra Capital Partners and, before that, Burr spent 15 years at UBS AG as a senior client advisor.

LLB Group said chief executive Gabriel Brenna decided to leave the organisation to take on a new professional challenge. Brenna joined LLB as a member of the group executive board in October 2012. Until February 2021, he headed the private banking division. As of 1 March 2021, he was appointed as the group CEO and board chairman of the LLB Group. Christoph Reich, deputy CEO and group chief financial officer, is leading the business ad interim.

Quintet Private Bank, a European group, appointed former Deutsche Bank and Lombard Odier senior figure Hugo Bänziger as its new chairman. Bänziger succeeded Rory Tapner, who served as chair from 2020 until the end of 2024. 

After 31 years in the financial services sector, Andrew McGlone stepped down from his role as chief executive of Quilter Cheviot to pursue other opportunities. John Goddard, who has had a 29-year career at HSBC, will join in September 2025 as the new CEO.

Geneva-based asset management company Noble Capital Management appointed Mourtaza Asad-Syed as a senior fund manager. He had been chief investment officer and a member of the executive committee at ODDO BHF (Switzerland), formerly Landolt & Cie, from 2019. Prior to that, he served as global head of investment strategy at Société Générale Private Banking and various roles at JP Morgan, the Caisse des Dépôts & Consignations and McKinsey. 

Allfunds, a fund distribution platform, said that group CEO and founder Juan Alcaraz would be leaving the firm and that the former CEO of Global Private Banking and Wealth, Annabel Spring, would be taking the helm. Alcaraz founded the business in Spain 25 years ago.

The firm also appointed Véronique Uzan as head of France. Based in Paris, she reports to Gianluca Renzini, chief commercial officer for Allfunds.

Jupiter Asset Management appointed Niall Gallagher, Chris Sellers, and Chris Legg to form the European equity team. Previously they worked at GAM Investments where they had led its European equities franchise for 15 years. 

Boodle Hatfield appointed Aleem Khan from fellow UK London-based law firm Howard Kennedy. 

Indosuez Wealth Management made the following appointments: 
Mathieu Ferragut was named deputy CEO of Indosuez Wealth Management in charge of AFC; he remained CEO of CFM Indosuez, Indosuez’s subsidiary in Monaco, for a transitional period until a successor was appointed. Peter De Coensel, appointed IM head, remained as CEO of DPAM (the asset management entity of Indosuez Wealth Management). Pierre Masclet was appointed deputy CEO in charge of the FTBS division. 

UK-based Evelyn Partners appointed Susan Miller-Jones as its new chief people officer. Formerly at Royal Sun Alliance as UK director of HR, she served in senior HR roles at professional services firms KPMG UK and Brunswick, in the property sector as global head of HR at DTZ, and with Barclays Bank where she was head of HR, Barclays Group Centre.

RBC BlueBay Asset Management, the asset management division of Royal Bank of Canada, appointed Jonathan Crown as a portfolio manager for its global equity team, based in London. Crown reports to Habib Subjally, managing director and senior portfolio manager, head of global equities.

M&G Investments appointed Neil Godfrey as global head of client group to lead distribution, marketing and client experience teams within asset management. Godfrey succeeded Neal Brooks who decided to step down after almost 30 years with M&G. 

Switzerland-based Smart Wealth Asset Management AG, an asset manager of AI-driven investment products, appointed Manuel Ebner, as chairman of the board. Ebner’s previous roles included 13 years as country executive of Bank of America, CEO of BZ Bank, CEO of Artificial Life, and partner at McKinsey & Company.

International law firm Charles Russell Speechlys appointed Josh Risso-Gill as partner in its real estate planning team, based in London. Previously, Risso-Gill worked for eight years at CMS as a partner specialising in planning law. 

Standard Chartered appointed former HSBC senior figure Yusuf Demiral as global head, wealth and retail banking data, analytics and AI.

IQ-EQ appointed Dean Douglas as its new head of private wealth for Jersey. Douglas has been with the group for more than 20 years, holding a number of senior positions.
 

North America
Rockefeller Global Family Office added Suskind Ripple Halliwell Wealth Partners. The team, which joined from UBS, reports to Kristen Sario, Southeast divisional director of Rockefeller Global Family Office.

Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Suskind Ripple Halliwell Wealth Partners is led by private advisors and managing directors Leonard Suskind and Seth Ripple; it includes private advisors and senior vice presidents Karleen Halliwell and Laura Raybin Miller, and private advisor and VP Teddy Pappas. The team also includes team chief operating officer and senior VP Gigi Whitlock, and senior client associates and associate vice presidents Rebecca Garcia and Susie Rodriguez. 

Dechert, an international law firm, appointed Robert Shapiro as a partner in its financial services practice group, adding to its US regulatory practice. Shapiro is based in Dechert’s Washington, DC office.

Prior to this, he worked at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, where he served as assistant chief counsel in the Division of Investment Management. In that role, Shapiro oversaw the provision of guidance relating to the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act.

Bleakley Financial Group, a wealth advisory and financial planning firm, appointed Ray Sclafani to join its board of directors. 

An executive, speaker and coach, Sclafani founded and is CEO of ClientWise, a business and executive coaching firm serving financial advisors in the US. Sclafani, who has nearly four decades of experience, including 20 years as a managing director at AllianceBernstein, is based in Irving, Texas. 

UBS Wealth Management US appointed Belin Robertson as a financial advisor. He is based in the UBS Irvine office, which is part of the firm’s Pacific Desert market, led by market executive Justin Frame. Robertson joined after working for the past three years with Wilmington Trust. 

Osaic said Porpora Wealth Management – a New York-based financial planning practice – had become an affiliate. Porpora, which is named after father-son principals Ralph and Michael Porpora, is supported by registered administrative assistant, Mary Brennan. It joined from B Riley Wealth Management and affiliates with New York Financial Partners, based in Jericho, New York. 

RBC Wealth Management – US hired The Centennial Wealth Management Group to join a new branch in Purchase, New York, Westchester County. It includes nine members. The firm also welcomed a new leader at its Boston complex, Brendan Krebs. Krebs took over from retiring complex director Brian Katz, who was with RBC for nine years. It also appointed three financial advisors who recently joined from UBS where they managed a combined total of about $1.1 billion in client assets. The advisors are Robert Miller based in the St Paul complex, Scott Murray in Boise, and Mark Grueninger in Beverly Hills.

Citi Private Bank appointed Henry Woodward Middleton, Jr as its Southeast market executive. Woodward reports to Chris Biotti, head of Citi Private Bank for North America. Before this, Woodward worked at Bank of America Private Bank where he served as the executive leader for Southeast Florida.

Private real estate credit manager S3 Capital, based in New York opened a Dallas office. Jonathan Hart was named managing director of origination in the Dallas office. 

Orion, the wealthtech firm working with financial advisors and other businesses, appointed Valli Nachiappan as chief technology officer. Nachiappan reports to Reed Colley, president of Orion Advisor Technology. She has more than 20 years of experience in the technology sector. 

Apex Group, a financial services provider, appointed Jeff Weiner as chief operating officer. Weiner’s background includes senior roles at institutions such as Fiserv, Bank of America, Fannie Mae, Wells Fargo and, most recently, Conduent.

Percent, a private credit marketplace, appointed former JP Morgan and McKinsey senior figure Marshall Lux to join its board of directors. Lux, who serves as a venture partner at B Capital, is a senior advisor to Boston Consulting Group, (and has also held a senior position at BCG). He sits on public and private boards across banking, insurance, and private equity. 

MetLife Investment Management, the institutional asset management business of New York-listed MetLife, named Brian Funk as its president. Funk previously held the post ad interim, while being global head of private capital for MIM.

Bank of America Private Bank appointed three new market executives in the New York metro market. Mary Chan, Chris Petro and Jeremy Sunshine joined the private bank’s leadership team, working with Geena Mayback, division executive, and Emily Dreas, managing director and senior market executive division head. 

Chan joined from JP Morgan Private Bank where she was a regional managing director for New York and oversaw the integration of First Republic’s business in the market when the latter bank was taken over in an emergency transaction. Prior to this role, Chan led a First Republic team for 17 years. Petro most recently served as head of Metro New York region for Citi Private Bank. Previously, he worked at JP Morgan’s Global Investment Opportunities Group. Sunshine, who joined the private bank last fall from JP Morgan Private Bank, spent the previous five years building out its Westchester, New York market. 

Private wealth advisory practice Allegiant Private Wealth joined the independent channel of Ameriprise Financial from Merrill Lynch. The practice is led by private wealth advisor Christine Selzer and includes PWAs Brian Selzer and Brody Grove. It includes administrative assistant Kendall Holmes and client relationship manager Melanie Konoski. 

A team of advisors at Empire 360 joined Morgan Stanley in New Jersey – previously they were with UBS. Prior to joining the latter firm in 2015, the firm had been at Smith Barney, which Morgan Stanley bought in 2009.

The team comprises Angelo Amitsis, managing director, private wealth advisor, Kevin Reiner, private wealth advisor, and support staff Mary Fava-Marsh, vice president, financial planning analyst, according to the Morgan Stanley website. Others in the team are Brandon Young, VP, PWM director of investments, and Alexandra Venegas, PWM client service associate.

Amitsis and Reiner – who have offices in New York City and Paramus (New Jersey) – report to private wealth market executive Michael Farrell. Farrell is in NYC at Morgan Stanley’s global HQ.

UBS Wealth Management in the US appointed Mellany Bagtas as a financial advisor in New York City. The group also added a former JP Morgan and Citi Private Banker to its NY teamk. Bagtas reports to associate market executive Demie Kommatas.  Prior to this, Bagtas worked at Morgan Stanley, where she most recently served as a first vice president and portfolio manager. She was joined by wealth strategy associate Kaitlin Weaver.

Separately, UBS International appointed Adelino Dias as a financial advisor in New York. Dias has a background in serving UHNW clients, mainly in Brazil. Prior to UBS, Dias worked for more than seven years in private wealth management at Citi Private Bank, in the New York area.

Anchyra Partners, a new RIA based in Atlanta, joined the cluster of firms within the network of Dynasty Financial Partners. Robert Durham, Zack Cloud, and Brian Gately founded Anchyra. Durham previously served as managing director and regional director at Stephens. Cloud and Gately were vice presidents at Goldman Sachs.

Star Mountain Capital promoted Curtis Glovier to chief investment officer. He has been working with the firm for more than five years, most recently as strategic investment and portfolio officer.

Savant Wealth Management, an RIA, appointed Ahmed Hassanein as its chief financial officer. Hassanein joined from Los Angeles-based Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, where he had served as CFO for the past two years.

FinServ Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that fosters talent in the financial services sector, named Victoria O’Tool as its executive director. She was introduced to the organization when she became a FinServ fellow during her time as a finance student at the University of Alabama. Subsequently, she served as the FinServ Foundation conference chair and as a member of the FinServ Foundation Fellow Advisory Board.

Gateway Financial Partners, a firm based in Connecticut, appointed Robb Combs as director of business development. Combs has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry.

LPL Financial brought William “Bill” Curtis Loomis, William Curtis “Curt” Loomis, and Justin K Hitt of Loomis Wealth Management to LPL’s broker-dealer, RIA and custodial platforms. The team, which came from L M Kohn & Company, reported serving about $180 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets. Based in Harrisonburg, the Loomis firm was founded in 2010.

Caprock, a multi-family office RIA, appointed Vivek Jindal as chief investment officer. He was previously CIO at KORE Private Wealth, prior to the firm being acquired by CI Financial/Corient. Jindal has more than 20 years' investment experience under his belt.

Pinnacle Associates appointed Henry Mercer as chief investment officer of Withum Wealth Management, a firm co-founded by Pinnacle. Mercer, who has more than 45 years of investment management experience, most recently served as president of Mercer Capital Advisers, which he founded in 1999 and led until his brief retirement in 2022. Since then, he has remained active in the markets as a private investor.

Emigrant Bank appointed Kenneth M Eyler as managing director. Eyler works with Liz Nesvold, vice chair of Emigrant Bank, Mark Rogozinski, MD/head of family office services and the bank's senior leadership team to expand its family office capabilities. Most recently, Eyler was MD of family office services at Cresset, where he advised single- and multi-family offices nationwide. 

Farmers and Merchants Trust Company appointed Salvatore "Tory" Milazzo as senior vice president, trust and investment manager. 

Elevation Point appointed Eric Clarke, founding chief executive of Orion Advisor Solutions, and Mike Mikan, president and CEO of NeueHealth and former CFO of UnitedHealth Group, to join its board of directors.

Partners Group appointed Anastasia Amoroso as managing director and chief investment strategist for private wealth and retirement. She is based in New York. Prior to this, Amoroso worked at iCapital, where she had been chief investment strategist for the past four years. 

Hightower confirmed that Larry Restieri had officially taken the reins as its chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors, succeeding Bob Oros, Hightower's CEO since 2019.

Evercore Wealth Management added four former Silicon Valley Bank figures to its San Francisco office. The arrivals were Ryan Fox, Flavia Araujo Trento, Brandon Frandsen and Winifred Yam. All four worked at Northern Trust.

Citi Wealth, part of Citigroup, appointed former JP Morgan figure Jeanne Sun as head of portfolio advisory, part of the chief investment office team. She worked for more than two decades at JP Morgan. Sun, who is based in New York, reports to Kate Moore. Mooore joined as CIO in February, formerly working at BlackRock.

CBIZ, the US-listed professional services firm, added to its team: Jim Low, financial services, and Beth Wiener, alternatives. Low’s mandate includes areas such as cybersecurity and fraud prevention, regulatory preparedness, M&A activity, credit and liquidity management, tax policy and compliance, benefits and insurance needs, and assurance needs. In Wiener’s case, she joined CBIZ at a time when alternative investments, such as private credit, equity, real estate, infrastructure and venture capital, were getting considerable wealth industry attention. Wiener is MD and national alternative investment industry leader.

Raymond James – various moves
-- The firm welcomed financial advisor Andy Knowles to its independent advisor channel. As founder of Knowles Private Wealth in McMinnville, Tennessee, Knowles is joined by client service associates Haile Love and Alex Guthrie. Previously, Knowles was affiliated with LPL Financial and First National Bank of Middle Tennessee.

-- Raymond James welcomed financial advisor John Hutchinson to its employee advisor channel. Hutchinson Wealth Services of Raymond James is based in Walnut Creek, California. Hutchinson was previously affiliated with Stifel.

-- Raymond James Financial Institutions Division part of Raymond James, brought in financial advisor Jason Buford to First Investments & Planning, located at FNBO (First National Bank of Omaha). Prior to this, Buford was affiliated with UMB Financial Services, where he managed about $260 million in client assets.

-- The firm also brought in a $950 million team of 10 financial advisors to its independent advisor channel. Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with offices throughout Texas, Springs Wealth Group is led by managing partners Bob Book, Andrew Inman, Tim Mason, Chris Van Stavern, and Chris Young. They were joined by financial advisors Kristen Christensen, Travis Crowell, Bryan Ladrow, Camden Steele and Jerrad Bridgmon, as well as 13 branch professionals.

-- Raymond James welcomed financial advisor Wesley Coyle to its independent advisor channel, in Austin, Texas.

Asia-Pacific
HSBC Global Private Banking appointed Ann Ling as the new regional head of wealth planning and advisory for Asia-Pacific. She took up the role vacated by Henry Lam, who is retiring. At HSBC, Ling has developed the Hong Kong/London-headquartered bank's relationships with ultra-high net worth individuals and families, working in areas such as trusts, succession, and estate plans.

Nomura Asset Management, part of Japan’s Nomura, appointed Terence Lam in the newly-formed role of distribution head for Asia excluding Japan, based in Singapore. Lam reports to Kenichi Suzuki, senior managing director, head of the global business unit at NAM. Lam, who has more than 25 years’ experience in the asset management industry, was most recently a managing director and head of client group for the core Asia-Pacific area, at AXA Investment Managers Asia in Hong Kong.

IQ-EQ, the investor services group, appointed Divya Doshi as managing director, sales for Asia and the Middle East, and Koji Ikeda as MD, Japan. 

Ex-UBS senior figure Naushad Khan – a non-resident Indian (NRI) banker – joined Deutsche Bank. Khan joined Deutsche’s global South Asia team. Khan, based in Singapore, reports to Puneesh Nayar, market head for the global South Asia division. Prior to this, Khan worked at UBS, which he joined in 2023, and, before that, at EFG for more than 10 years as a private banker focused on the United Arab Emirates and GCC countries of the Gulf.

Carey Olsen, the law firm, promoted Hong Kong resident dispute resolution and insolvency lawyer Dhanshuklal Vekaria to the partnership. Vekaria, who previously practised in the Cayman Islands, joined the firm's dispute resolution and insolvency practice in Hong Kong in 2018.
 
Law firm Charles Russell Speechlys appointed Henry Winter and Gavin Margetson as partners in its commercial dispute resolution team. They joined from Mishcon de Reya  and are based in the firm's Singapore office.

UBS Asset Management named Desmond Ng as asset management region head for Asia-Pacific. Ng is based in Hong Kong and has worked in the asset management sector for 28 years. He joined from Allianz Global Investors where he was head of APAC, responsible for the retail and institutional businesses. 

Knight Frank, the real estate group, appointed two figures to join its capital markets business in Australia. Rob Sewell joined as partner, national head of institutional sales, leading Knight Frank’s national office team. Michael Kwok was promoted to partner, national head of capital markets. Both are based in Sydney.

Bank J Safra Sarasin appointed former JP Morgan senior figure May Hsu as chair for its Asia business. She succeeded Mignonne Cheng, who was made executive chairman for Asia. 

Hsu joined with two other private banking senior figures from JP Morgan, Guo Quan Ng and Lawrence Lee. Hsu and Ng report to Andy Chai, CEO for Asia.

In her previous role at JP Morgan Private Bank, Hsu was vice chair, Asia. She has worked in the wealth management space for almost four decades. Ng is a private banking veteran with more than 16 years of experience in the financial industry, including more than 14 years at JP Morgan Private Bank. Lee has almost 30 years of experience in the sector, with more than 20 years at JP Morgan Private Bank.

Bank of Singapore refreshed its CIO Global Advisory Council – launched last year – with four new members:

-- Dr Guo Kai, executive president, senior fellow, CF40 Institute; former economist at the International Monetary Fund, author of Chinese economics; 
-- John Emerson, former US ambassador to Germany and vice chair, Capital International; former US ambassador to Germany from 2013 to 2017; served as deputy assistant to former US president Clinton and appointed by former US president Obama to serve in his Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations; 
-- Joseph Zidle, chief investment strategist, Blackstone Private Wealth; spent nearly a decade at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, most recently as head of investment strategy for global wealth management and deputy director of the research investment committee; 
-- Torsten Slok, chief economist and partner, Apollo Global Management; worked for 15 years on the sell-side; investor in fixed income and equities for 10 years.

Royal London Asset Management appointed Kevin Haran as head of regional sales. He is based in Sydney. From 2018 to 2024, Haran was head of institutional sales, Australia and New Zealand, at Affiliated Managers Group Pty.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Malaysia appointed Wendy Ooi as head of the corporate banking department in Malaysia. Based in Malaysia and reporting to Nizar Faisal, deputy CEO of SMBC Malaysia, and Joyce Tee, head of corporate banking department Asia-Pacific, Ooi leads the bank’s non-Japanese corporate banking strategy in Malaysia.

Schroders named four senior figures, including a head of client group for Asia and country head for Hong Kong:

-- Karine Szenberg was appointed as executive vice chair, whilst Matt Oomen joined Schroders as global head of client group;    
-- In Asia, Gopi Mirchandani was named head of client group, Asia and Jason Yu was recruited for the Hong Kong country head position; 
-- Mirchandani succeeded Chris Durack, who was appointed to the newly-created role of chair for Asia until his departure on 31 December. Mirchandani reports to Oomen; and 

Szenberg, global head of client group, remained on the group executive committee in her new slot as executive vice chair and Oomen, who reports to Richard Oldfield, has worked for three decades in the financial services industry. He joined from US-headquartered BNY Investments.

Chi-man Kwan, group CEO of Raffles Family Office, was elected as president of the Hong Kong Singapore Business Association (HSBA). Dennis Chiu continued in his role as chairman of HSBA. 

Citigroup appointed Benny Aroeman as head of markets for Indonesia. He reports to Sue Lee, head of markets for Asia South and Batara Sianturi, Citi country officer and banking head for Indonesia.

Robeco appointed Thu Ha Chow as country head for Singapore, adding to her role as fixed income head for Asia. Thu Ha Chow, who joined the Dutch firm in 2022 to take on her existing role, has more than two decades’ experience in global fixed income markets. Prior to Robeco, she served as portfolio manager and Asia strategist at Loomis Sayles & Co, and as head of Asian credit at Aberdeen Asset Management – both roles were based in Singapore.

LGT, the Liechtenstein-headquartered private bank, said the chief executive of its Thailand business, Ekkapob Makeguljai, would be leaving at the end of 2025. He is based in Bangkok. Makeguljai is departing for personal reasons. 

Lansberg Gersick Advisors, a Connecticut, US-headquartered firm that advises family-run businesses, recruited a former UBS and Credit Suisse senior figure as a partner in Asia, based in Singapore. 

Thomas Ang leads its global practice for family offices and co-ordinates its advisory team in Asia. Prior to LGA, Ang was managing director and global co-head for family advisory, art and collecting at UBS Global Wealth Management. He founded Credit Suisse Family Office Services in 2008 and had served as the global head of Family Office Services until 2023.

Citigroup appointed John McLean as head of equity capital markets and global asset managers for Australia and New Zealand. McLean is head of GAM, the US bank’s financial sponsors business in the Asia-Pacific region.

Goldman Sachs appointed Ling Pong as the head of private wealth management for North Asia, filling the vacancy left by Nick Yim, who retired after working at the US financial powerhouse for more than 30 years.

Pong took on additional responsibilities as the head of the North Asian region at Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management. She continued to serve as head of PWM capital markets, equity structuring and managed strategies in Asia-Pacific. 

RBC Wealth Management appointed a raft of senior private bankers in Hong Kong. They support clients in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the wider region.

The appointees:
-- Angie Chow, executive director. With over 20 years of experience in private banking, Chow joined from HSBC Global Private Banking in Hong Kong; 
-- Becky Chu, managing director, joined RBC from Credit Suisse in Hong Kong; 
-- Erica Cheung, executive director. Cheung held senior positions at BNP Paribas Wealth Management and Bank of Singapore before joining RBC; 
-- Grace Yu, MD, joined RBC from UBS; 
-- Ingrid Lau, MD. Lau worked at Credit Suisse Private Bank in Hong Kong; and 
-- Roger Kiu, ED, was previously with J Safra Sarasin Group and Bank of Montreal. 

Citigroup appointed Wenjie Zhang as country officer and banking head for China, and president and executive director for Citibank (China) Co. He replaced Aveline San (who remained Hong Kong CCO and banking head ) who was interim for China after Luke Lu resigned for personal reasons late last year. Prior to this appointment, Zhang – who is based in Shanghai – was the president of China and Shanghai branch manager for Bank of America China. 

Aberdeen Investments appointed Pruksa Lamthongthong as head of equities for Asia Pacific. She succeeded Flavia Cheong, who was set to retire in December 2025 after a 30-year career with the firm. Cheong joined the company in 1997 as one of the first members of the Singapore office.

Paragon Capital Management appointed senior banking industry figure Trevor Lau as managing director and strategist, based in Singapore. Lau reports to Paul Lee, co-founder, CEO, and chief investment officer of PCM, and Irene Ng, chief operations officer and compliance/risk officer of PCM. Lau has more than 20 years’ private banking, wealth management and investment strategy experience in Asia; he held senior positions at Credit Suisse, Azura Investment Partners, UBS, and Citi Private Bank.

Julius Baer appointed Shui Wei Ho and Vi Sun Yang as market heads for Southeast Asia. They succeed Chin Lit Yee, who retired after nearly four decades in banking. Yee led the private bank’s Southeast Asia market in a variety of leadership positions and worked at Julius Baer for 10 years. 

Ho and Yang continue to be based in Singapore and report to Lee. Ho joined the bank as group head, Southeast Asia, in August 2022, later taking on the job of market head for Thailand, Japan and Asia Switzerland in January last year – a role which she retains. Ho, who was the market head for Thailand and Indochina at Bank of Singapore before joining Julius Baer, previously worked with UBS and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Yang joined the Swiss bank as group head for Southeast Asia in July 2022, having previously led the Singapore and Indonesia markets at UBS for 14 years.