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

Progeny 
Progeny has appointed Heather Ross to the new role of head of Academy. The Progeny Adviser Academy was launched in April 2019 and currently offers a three-year programme that targets Chartered status.

Ross (pictured), who started her career as a financial advisor, has more 30 years of experience. She has worked at senior level at groups including Standard Life, Aegon UK and Prudential, where she was responsible for overseeing learning and development, project management, training and competence, and operations, the firm said in a statement.

Most recently Ross was learning and development director at Balmoral Asset Management - which was acquired by Progeny in July 2022 - where she was also responsible for their graduate academy.

Ross said: “I'm excited to join Progeny as head of their academy and about the opportunities this brings for the growth of the profession. The academy was an important factor in Progeny securing corporate Chartered status from the Chartered Insurance Institute, while being an essential platform to develop the professionals of the future.”

Ian Browne, chief of advisory services, added: “Progeny is committed to investing it its people and the next generation of professional services and Heather brings a wealth of experience to our academy, which is growing year-on-year.

“A career in financial services offers a multitude of different pathways and should also recruit from a wide footprint, so it's important the academy continues to evolve in order to support this.”

Progeny is a UK firm, which brings together independent financial planning, asset management, tax, HR and private and corporate legal services.

Burgess Mee Family Law 
London-based Burgess Mee Family Law has appointed Emma Morris as a legal director.

Morris, who has joined from Ince (formerly Gordon Dadds), will focus on high net worth matters, financial settlements and complex children work, the firm said in a statement. She was previously a partner and head of department at Rooks Rider Solicitors. Prior to that, Morris worked at Wedlake Bell as a solicitor specialising in family law upon qualification in 1995.

Morris’ clients include entrepreneurs, sports people, people in the entertainment industry, professionals, and those with trust interests. She is a member of Resolution and a trained collaborative solicitor.

Antonia Mee, partner and co-founder of Burgess Mee, said: “Emma brings a wealth of invaluable experience to Burgess Mee, having worked on some of the most complex, often high-profile, family law cases. Her appointment will enable us to provide additional strategic support of the highest quality to our clients.”

Rathbone Greenbank Investments
Rathbone Greenbank Investments has announced the appointment of David Cox as the new head of investments. Cox will head up the senior investment team and be responsible for evolving the Greenbank investment proposition.

With nearly 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, Cox is joining from Brunel Pension Partnership, where he was deputy chief investment officer. He has experience of leading initiatives in sustainable and environmental investing across asset classes. Cox holds the chartered alternative investment analyst (CAIA) designation, specialising in alternative asset classes and portfolio and index construction.

Laura Hobbs is joining as an investment director, responsible for managing charity portfolios and helping charities to align their investments with their ethical values and sustainability ambitions. Previously Hobbs was a responsible investment manager for Brunel Pension Partnership, where she also led on the sustainability and climate integration strategy. Hobbs is a chartered financial analyst (CFA) charterholder and, alongside her professional employment, she sits on the investment committee of the World Wide Fund for Nature as an independent investment advisor.

Emma Williams is joining the team as a senior ethical, sustainable and impact (ESI) researcher. In addition to conducting research into companies’ ESG and ethical performance and practices, she will play a key role in supporting the roll-out of Greenbank’s 2023 company engagement projects. Before joining Greenbank, Emma was an associate director at Grant Thornton UK LLP and has previously held positions within social investment at Bristol & Bath Regional Capital CIC and corporate sustainability at PwC.

All three hires will be based in Greenbank’s Bristol office, helping to strengthen its scope and influence across the UK.

John David, head of Rathbone Greenbank Investments, said: “David brings a wealth of experience and, as our new head of Investments, will help us evolve our investment proposition to meet the needs of the growing number of private, charity, and family office clients wanting to see their portfolios invested sustainably, together championing the transition to a healthier planet and more equitable society. He, along with Emma and Laura, are valuable new members of the team, and I look forward to them being a part of the next chapter of our business as we further strengthen our client offering.”

Astra Protocol
Astra Protocol, a decentralised know-your-client platform for Web 3.0 businesses, has appointed former Samsung Electronics president and chief strategy officer Young Sohn to join its advisory board.

(Web 3.0 refers to the latest iteration of the World Wide Web which incorporates concepts such as decentralisation, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics.)

During his tenure at Samsung, Young Sohn led the $8 billion acquisition of HARMAN International Industries, a name in the internet-of-things and cloud solutions, of which Young Sohn is chairman of the board. He is founding managing partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures, a venture capital firm helping early-stage companies in deep tech. 

“The need for tangible compliance frameworks has never been clearer, particularly as the wider technology industry incorporates features of Web 3.0. Astra Protocol is trailblazing in achieving this for decentralised ecosystems with the opportunity to effect real change,” Young Sohn said. 

Astra Protocol provides a geospatial compliance layer to decentralised finance applications and smart contracts by using the regulatory frameworks of 155 countries.

Kingsley Napley
Law firm Kingsley Napley has appointed Waqar Shah as a partner to launch a dedicated tax disputes and investigations service offering. It will add to the London-based firm’s contentious tax and dispute resolution expertise.

Shah will focus on resolving tax disputes for clients but will also work closely with non-contentious tax partners Matt Spencer (corporate/employment) and Laura Harper (private client) within the tax advisory team. 

Shah acts for high net worth individuals and corporate clients across many sectors on a range of HMRC disputes and investigations. His experience spans employment tax (including 'IR35'/off-payroll working), VAT disputes, customs/excise duty matters and tax-related fraud investigations. Shah is an experienced litigator frequently dealing with cases in the tax tribunals through to the Supreme Court (as well as referrals to the Court of Justice of the European Union).

Prior to this role, he worked at Mishcon de Reya LLP where he became a partner in 2021. He started his career as a lawyer at PwC Legal LLP.