The latest moves and appointments in wealth management in the UK, the rest of Europe, the Middle East and other select locations.

Downing
This week Downing has appointed healthcare industry veteran John E Milad as partner and co-head of its healthcare ventures team. 

He brings a wealth of experience to the role, with over 25 years working in venture capital, startup leadership and investment banking in the healthcare and life sciences sectors across the UK, Europe and the US, the firm said in a statement.

He will be working with co-head Dr Nigel Pitchford, who joined Downing’s healthcare ventures team as a partner last summer. 

The team is planning to expand with additional hires and launch a new institutional fund to back innovative companies using technology to transform healthcare delivery.

Milad served as CEO of Quanta Dialysis Technologies for eight years. At Quanta, he raised nearly $400 million in funding, launched the company’s commercial offering in the UK and the US and established transatlantic operations, the firm continued.

Prior to Quanta, he was an investment director at NBGI Ventures, where he focused on funding innovative medical technology companies in Europe and the US. Before that, he was an executive at the venture-backed startup Nitec Pharma, an investment professional at Atlas Venture and at Kirkland Investors, and an investment banker at Nomura and Lehman Brothers.

Sarasin & Partners
Sarasin & Partners, an £18.3 billion ($22.5 billion) global investment manager which invests thematically and sustainably on behalf of charities, private clients and institutions, this week appointed Melanie Roberts as the new head of its 20-strong charity team.

Roberts joined the Sarasin & Partners charity team, which manages £8 billion of assets for charity clients, in 2011, having previously worked at Newton Investment Management. 

She was made a partner at Sarasin & Partners in 2016. Following her recent appointment, Roberts will focus on strategy, stewardship and client service as she and the team seek to grow charity portfolios amidst a new economic regime of rising interest rates and slowing global growth, the firm said.

Roberts is taking over from Richard Maitland, who has been head of charities since 2003. Maitland will become a senior partner at the firm and will continue to sit on the firm’s executive committee, the firm added.  He will remain focused on client management, while helping develop new business opportunities, which includes Sarasin & Partners’ private equity business, Sarasin Bread Street.