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Summary: Executive Moves In Wealth Management - January 2013

11 February 2013

Baird is planning to open a new wealth management office in the Northeast and has brought in Peter Miller from Wells Fargo to lead the effort.

Miller is charged with recruiting experienced advisors in the Northeast to staff a new office there; the precise location of the new office has not been determined yet. Miller himself will be based at the firm’s St Louis office.

Miller was latterly a member of Wells Fargo Advisors’ senior leadership team, heading up the advisor development group. In this role he managed training, recruitment and development of the firm’s branch managers and financial advisors.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management added five UBS advisors, bolstering its teams in Florida and New Jersey.

Kevin Cooper joined Morgan Stanley in Boca Raton, FL, reporting to complex manager Bert White. At UBS he had assets of $400 million and production of $1.6 million.

In Shrewsbury, NJ, Morgan Stanley added The Ryan Group, comprised of John Ryan, David Nelson, James Gallagher and Philip Martinho. The team reports to branch manager Todd Sacks. It had $350 million in combined assets at UBS, and production of $2.8 million.

Los Angeles-headquartered Aristotle Capital Management added Jay Cunningham and Eric Gerritse to its investment management team and Andrew Shapiro as director of trading.

Cunningham joined as a senior research analyst. He latterly worked at Metropolitan West Capital Management, where he worked with Aristotle’s chief executive Howard Gleicher until 2010, when Gleicher left.

Gerritse joined following a 17-year international career in investing. He was based in the Netherlands for a period as a fund analyst for ABN AMRO Advisors, and as an analyst at MeesPierson.

John LaPann, the founder of Boston-based wealth manager Federal Street Advisors, delegated the day-to-day management of the firm to two of his colleagues, as he remains as chairman and lead advisor.

Kristin Fafard was appointed as president and chief investment officer while Jennifer Christian Murtie took over as chief operating officer. Fafard was previously director of research, a position that Emily Bannister is now taking on.

As chairman, LaPann will stay involved with decisions that affect the whole firm, and he will also spend more time working directly with clients and leading the advice team. He remains on the firm’s investment committee.

Florida-based Fross & Fross Wealth Management, an investment advisory firm, took on Paul Hoffman as a portfolio manager and wealth advisor.

Hoffman will be in charge of portfolio structuring and analysis, as well as providing timely information to clients. He has over 25 years of investment experience, having served as vice president of fixed income, currency and commodities at Goldman Sachs, among other roles at AMBAC Securities, TIAA-CREF, BNY Mellon, Citizens First Bank and Gibraltar Private Bank.

Raymond James & Associates, the broker/dealer subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, nabbed another financial advisor team from Morgan Stanley, this time in Houston, TX.

Financial advisors and senior vice presidents Marlene Fowler and Christopher Fowler operate as the Fowler Financial Group and previously managed over $70 million in client assets, with annual fees and commissions in excess of $700,000.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, the husband-wife team spent a combined 29 years at AG Edwards, where they managed more than $100 million in client assets and had annual revenues of some $1 million.

First Republic Bank appointed senior vice president Jason Bender to the newly-created position of chief administrative officer.

Bender currently manages First Republic’s finance department but will assume additional responsibilities for lending operations and servicing, as well as administrative services. He joined First Republic in 1999 and has led the bank’s finance department since 2001. 

Bank of Montreal brought in Robert Cormie to head new private banking operations in Asia, as the firm seeks to create a global service for wealthy individuals looking to manage their investments across North America and Asia-Pacific.

The move offers high net worth clients a more integrated and flexible range of financial products and services, while bridging local clients venturing abroad and international clients conducting business in Asia, BMO said.

Cormie was named regional vice president and managing director of private banking in Asia and will report to Alexandra Dousmanis-Curtis, senior vice president and head of private banking in Canada and Asia. Cormie will also have a regional reporting line into Albert Yu, BMO's chief executive in Asia.

Joe Reilly, founding president of the Family Office Association, is leaving the firm to “explore a new project”.

FOA is a global membership organization exclusive to single family offices and families of wealth, based in Greenwich, CT, with members from across the US and globally.

Financial advisors Philip Maurer, David Kushner and Barbara Maurer joined the Newtown, PA, branch of Raymond James & Associates, the broker/dealer subsidiary of Raymond James Financial.

The team operates as M2K Financial and joined from Morgan Stanley, where it managed over $146 million in client assets and had annual fees and commissions in excess of $935,000.

Philip Maurer started his financial services career 12 years ago as a financial advisor at Prudential Securities, which then merged into Wachovia. In his new role at Raymond James, he focuses on financial planning and specialty equity income portfolio management.

Kushner, who has four years of industry experience, is vice president of investments for M2K Financial. He latterly served as a second vice president and financial planning specialist at Morgan Stanley. At Raymond James, he specializes in financial planning services including wealth management and college planning, while advising on corporate retirement plans, specifically 401(k) plans.

Lastly, Barbara Maurer is a financial advisor and wealth management specialist. She started her career at Merrill Lynch in 1987, where she served as an assistant vice president and supervisor. She formerly worked at Morgan Stanley.

US-based Real Estate Capital Partners hired Thomas Etzel as managing director and head of strategy and business development, based in New York and Germany, as the firm looks to expand into European real estate investments.

RECAP also promoted two of its executives to the newly-formed management committee with Etzel. Paul Doocy was promoted from executive vice president to chief investment officer, while Andre Kinney was named COO, but retains his previous role as head of asset management.

Etzel will also serve on the executive committee along with Doocy, Kinney, Sylvia Gross, Michael Fruchtman, Robert McGee and Karin Shewer. Shewer, a founding partner of RECAP, became chairman of the RECAP board, while continuing to focus on investor marketing, business development and strategic initiatives.

Ameriprise Financial appointed Lisa Spadoni as a financial advisor within the private wealth advisory practice of Goldstein & Associates. Spadoni was latterly a financial advisor with Edward Jones, having previously worked for many years in the printing industry.

Bank of America appointed 13 business, academic and public policy leaders to its newly-created Global Advisory Council, which is chaired by chief executive Brian Moynihan.

Members of the council will share expertise and insights on the bank’s global engagement, while advising senior bank executives on trends and emerging opportunities in local markets.

Members of the Bank of America Global Advisory Council, which is a non-fiduciary body, include:

• Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong (US) - founder, former chairman and CEO, Abraxis Bioscience;

• David Westin (US) - former president and CEO, NewsRight, and former president, ABC News;

• The Honorary Kay Bailey Hutchison (US) - former US senator (Texas);

• Bader Al Sa’ad (Kuwait) - managing director and CEO, Kuwait Investment Authority;

• Donald Argus (Australia) - former CEO, National Australia Bank, and former chairman, BHP Billiton Group;

• Thierry Breton (France) - chairman and CEO, Atos;

• Edson de Godoy Bueno (Brazil) - president and CEO, Amil Participacões;

• Chong-Suk Choi (South Korea) - president and CEO, chairman of the board of directors, Korea Investment Corporation;

• Sir Sam Jonah (Ghana) - founder and chairman, Jonah Capital;

• Eijiro Katsu (Japan) - former administrative vice minister at Japan’s Ministry of Finance, and former director general at Japan’s Finance Bureau;

• Dr Jürgen Kluge (Germany) - director emeritus, McKinsey & Company;

• Ali Koç (Turkey) - executive board member of Koç Holding and chairman of Ford Otosan;

• Professor Frederick Ma (Hong Kong) - former secretary for financial services and the treasury, and former secretary for commerce and economic development, Hong Kong.

JP Morgan appointed Reuben Rashty to lead the firm’s private banking operations in Michigan, spanning offices in Grand Rapids, Bloomfield Hills, Ann Arbor and Grosse Pointe.

Prior to taking up his market manager post, Rashty served as a senior banker at JP Morgan Chase Private Bank. In his new role, he will direct the team that offers deposit, credit, fiduciary and philanthropic services, and investment advice to high net worth clients.

Cleveland, OH-based The Private Trust Company made two senior hires, with more to follow, as it works with its parent firm LPL Financial Holdings to expand its high net worth offering.

Jack Keane joined as vice president, finance and administrative officer, while Carolyn Neuner started as an assistant vice president and trust officer. The firm plans to take on additional trust officers in 2013.

Neuner is responsible for trust accounts and wealth management clients, providing guidance related to the implementation of estate plans for intergenerational HNW clients. Prior to joining PTC, she served as vice president of personal trust administration at TIAA-CREF Trust Company. Before that she held numerous senior trust and leadership roles at Bank of America, most recently as a senior vice president and team leader. 

Keane is latterly of National City Corporation, where he was chief financial officer for its institutional asset management division.

Mike Selfridge, senior executive vice president at First Republic Bank, was given the additional role of deputy chief operating officer.

Selfridge oversees First Republic’s private banking business in the San Francisco, CA, and Silicon Valley areas, and as deputy COO takes on additional responsibilities including immediate oversight of information technology. He joined First Republic in 2012 after 18 years at Silicon Valley Bank, where he was head of regional banking.

UBS Wealth Management Americas lured a long-time Merrill Lynch advisor, adding Todd Starkey to its Melbourne, FL, office, Reuters reports.

Starkey was previously based at Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Merritt Island office, where he managed $260 million in client assets. Last year he generated $2.1 million in annual revenue, the news service said. He was at the firm for over a decade.

He was joined by senior registered associate Candace Pelham in the move to UBS.

Fiduciary Trust Company International, a subsidiary of New York-listed Franklin Resources, appointed Jim Le Rose as a managing director and relationship manager.

Le Rose previously worked as a senior relationship manager at Lazard Wealth Management, before which he was a senior client account manager at Bessemer Trust.

Bank of America added Arnold Donald and Lionel Nowell to its board of directors.

Donald is an investor and management consultant operating through his private firm, AWD Group. He previously served as president and chief executive of The Executive Leadership Council, a non-profit organization that provides African-American executives at major US companies with a professional network and a forum on business issues.

Meanwhile, Nowell served as treasurer of PepsiCo between 2001 and 2009, having previously served as chief financial officer of The Pepsi Bottling Group, a role he took up in 2000. He joined PepsiCo from RJR Nabisco Inc, where he was a strategy and business development executive.

UBS named Andre Cronje, former wealth management chief executive for the UK and Jersey, as chief operating officer of its investment bank.

Cronje replaced Sam Molinaro, who was appointed as COO last March, although Michelle Bereaux took over on an interim basis at the start of November.

UBS said Cronje’s experience spanning investment banking, wealth management and corporate center is a “major asset” as the firm seeks to reposition itself and strengthen partnerships across the group, particularly with wealth management.

Cronje joined UBS in South Africa 13 years ago and has held senior roles in strategic advisory and M&A, having previously worked at UBS Warburg, Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank as an investment banker. He is a qualified lawyer and accountant.

In his new role, Cronje will work closely with business heads in corporate client solutions and investor client services, as well as with all finance, operations, technology, marketing and control teams to “strengthen the integrity and effectiveness” of UBS’s front-to-back operating and control environment.

Chicago-based William Blair & Company named six new partners.

The new partners are: Simon Fennell (investment management/London); Robert Napoli (research); Scott Stevens (corporate finance); Joseph Tabet (private client advisors); Matt Zimmer (corporate finance/London); and Jon Zindel (administration).

Atlanta, GA-headquartered LCG Associates, the investment consultancy firm, made a raft of senior promotions.

Senior vice president Britt Bentley is now a principal of the firm, while Eric Huff has been appointed as vice president of manager research. Additionally, Peggy Madden and Patricia Utke were named as vice presidents of client performance and reporting. They are all are based out of the Atlanta office.

The Securities and Exchange Commission named David Grim as deputy director of its investment management division.

Grim has worked in the investment management division for 17 years, most recently as assistant chief counsel. He joined the SEC in September 1995 as a staff attorney at the office of investment company regulation, moving to the office of chief counsel in 1998.

Family Office Exchange, a membership organization of single family offices and advisors, appointed Christian Sulger-Büel as managing director for FOX International. He is based in London.

Sulger-Büel’s task is to expand and support the FOX network around the world, the organization said in a statement. He has extensive experience working with family offices and wealth advisors and since 1999 has operated his own consultancy helping families set up and recruit for their family offices.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management hired David Duffy as a sales director within the mortgage banking group.

Duffy is charged with growing the firm’s residential mortgage business across the Mid-Atlantic region, focused primarily on the Washington and Philadelphia, PA, markets. He reports to Erin Gorman, managing director for national mortgage sales and private banking in the Northeast.

Brown Advisory took on Malcolm MacColl as a partner at its Boston, MA, office, as the firm looks to expand its offering for private clients and family offices.

The firm said MacColl will strengthen the investment, client service and business development efforts for its private, institutional and non-profit clients in New England and nationally.

MacColl joined from Crosswind Investments, an investment management firm he founded and led until selling it to the Lee Munder Capital Group last year. Prior to Crosswind, he was co-chief executive and managing principal of Essex Investment Management Company, a Boston-based firm with about $5 billion in assets.

HNW, Inc, a US marketing and technology firm specializing in the financial services sector, appointed Carol Eversen as managing director of client services.

Reporting to chief executive Stacey Haefele, Eversen will oversee the firm’s business development and relationship management functions. She has over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing across the telecommunications, financial services and professional services industries, most recently as a vice president at LexisNexis Marketing and Business Solutions.

TCW Group, the US-based asset manager, named Meredith Jackson as executive vice president and general counsel.

Jackson succeeded Michael Cahill, who joined TCW in 1991 and will remain with the firm through mid-2013.

Jackson is formerly of Irell & Manella, where she served as a partner and head of the debt finance practice since she joined the firm in 1999. She was also co-chair of the transactional practice group and a member of the executive, recruiting and legal opinion committees.

HighTower made two senior hires in Maryland, adding to its Baltimore-based Kelly Wealth Management and Bethesda practices.

In Baltimore, Matt Moore joined Kelly Wealth Management as a managing director with $200 million in assets, while Stephen Rosen joined HighTower Bethesda as a managing director and partner with $140 million.

Moore has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and works with affluent families, individual clients, closely-held businesses and non-profit organizations. He previously served as a senior financial advisor and first vice president of investments at Merrill Lynch.

Rosen is latterly of UBS and specializes in financial planning and portfolio management for high net worth individuals. He has 18 years of industry experience.

Two advisor groups left Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Short Hills, NJ, to join UBS Wealth Management Americas and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

UBS took on James Schwarz, Donald Rosenthal, Rachel Schwarz and Susan Fanburg from Morgan Stanley, where the team operated as the Short Hills Group and generated about $2.8 million in annual fees and commissions. Together, they managed over $1 billion in client assets.

Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch hired James Rohmann and Steven Filiaci, who had an annual production of about $2.6 million at Morgan Stanley and managed $189 million in client assets.

Nashville, TN-based Avondale Partners appointed Waymon Tipton as a managing director, charged with expanding the firm’s wealth management business in terms of advisor recruitment and assets under management.

Tipton was formerly a vice president in the Nashville office at Stephens, the privately-held financial services firm. At Avondale, he will also serve as a member of the operating committee.

RBC Wealth Management confirmed the appointment of Jean-François Courville - formerly president and chief executive of Manulife Asset Management - as executive vice president of global wealth services and chief operating officer, with effect from 4 February.

RBC told Family Wealth Report the hire is in line with the merger of its two global support groups, global wealth services and operations and technology. The former was previously led by Stuart Rutledge, who is now based in Jersey and serves as head of global trust and UK.

Based in Toronto, Courville will run the combined global support groups, assisting businesses with investment advisory and fee-based solutions, credit and cash management, brand and marketing, as well as operations and technology. He will report to George Lewis, group head of RBC Wealth Management & Insurance.

Chicago, IL-based Porte Brown, which provides tax and wealth management services among others, made Genevra Knight a partner at the firm.

Knight has over 14 years of industry experience and will work as part of the accounting and consulting services team in the Elk Grove Village, IL, office. She will also serve as a leader of the firm’s audit, non-profit and construction practice group.

“In addition to her supervisory and client management responsibilities, she is also the partner-in-charge of our paperless audit process and the firm's quality control procedures,” said Bruce Jones, managing partner. 

Carne Group, which specializes in advising asset managers about how they should be run, appointed Julie O’Hara as an independent fund director at its Cayman Islands office.

O’Hara is the fourth Carne director now resident in the Caribbean jurisdiction and available for fund boards. Her appointment brought the total number of the firm’s fund directors to 20.

BNY Mellon brought in Judy Hu as chief marketing officer. Hu replaced Peter Hayes, who left in the spring last year.

Hu will report to R Jeep Bryant, executive vice president for marketing and corporate affairs. She joined BNY Mellon from General Electric Company, where she has served as the global executive director of advertising and branding since 2002.

Bill Reilly ended his 30-year stint as Florida’s chief of the Bureau of Securities Regulation, moving to the compliance and regulatory consulting practice of Virginia-based Oyster Consulting as an associate director.

In his new role, Reilly will support broker-dealers and investment advisors in the areas of regulation, testimony, and on-site and off-site examinations. He will also draw on his relationships with state and federal regulators and self-regulatory organizations when providing guidance on regulatory processes and compliance issues, the firm said.

During his tenure in Florida, Reilly developed electronic training programs and examination modules for use by state securities examiners, while forging close ties with the SEC, FINRA and state regulators.

Genworth Financial Wealth Management, a subsidiary of New York-listed Genworth Financial, hired James Hanna as chief technology officer and a member of its senior leadership team.

Hanna brings 25 years of experience to the role and reports to Carrie Hansen, senior vice president, chief operations officer and president, mutual funds, for Genworth Wealth Management.

He previously worked at Bank of the West, where he was executive vice president and chief technology officer since 2005. Prior to that firm, Hanna held positions at Fidelity Information Services and Alltel Information Services.

WTAS, the US-based tax firm, announced more senior promotions within its private client services practice, this time in Washington, DC, and San Francisco, CA.

In Washington, W Aaron Hawthorne was named a managing director after seven years within the private client services practice.  

Meanwhile, Mary McCormick, who has spent over eight years in WTAS’s investment consulting practice, was promoted to director.  

Overall, the Washington office  made four promotions, the other two being manager John Bartlett and senior associate Jamison Thiel.

Further south, in San Francisco WTAS promoted Margaret Lip to its team of 19 managing directors.

Altogether, the San Francisco office made 15 promotions in January including Hazel Dolio Tag-at, Brendan Love and Megan Williams as directors in the private client, valuation and marketing practices respectively. Shaun Dublin was also added as director in the private client practice.

The promotions were part of a total of 51 WTAS promotions overall, including four managing directors, 12 directors, six senior managers, 13 managers and 16 senior associates.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management took on Christopher Hohlstein as regional president for Georgia, based at the firm’s growing Atlanta office.

Hohlstein reports to Craig Sutherland, president of the Southeast US region. Dana Halberg, chairman for Georgia, will continue in her client service leadership role, helping Hohlstein to grow the business throughout the Southeast, the firm said.

Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Hohlstein served for six years as a director at Synovus Family Asset Management, where he managed $4 billion in assets for over 50 families. His clients were primarily UHNW families in Georgia and the greater Southeast.

Canada’s RBC Wealth Management strengthened its Omaha, NE, office, appointing five financial advisors and three client associates from Morgan Stanley in a move which added $758 million in assets under management.

Jason Judge, first vice president; Matt Rose, vice president; Ken Ferrarini, senior vice president; Steve Ferrarini, associate vice president; and Scott Leinen, first vice president all joined the Omaha branch as financial advisors. Meanwhile, Laura Kolasky, Barbara Essi and Kelly Blankenship started as senior client associates. 

The Omaha office now has 17 financial advisors and 29 members of staff overall. As a result of the expansion, RBC said the branch will separate into two offices later this year and then reunite in a new office, to be completed in 2014.

Bridgewater Wealth & Financial Management brought in Bill Tinklepaugh as director of business development, a newly-created role in which he will look for growth opportunities and build new lines of business.

Tinklepaugh will work alongside managing principal Ron Rubin across the entire business, including in the areas of investment advisory, tax advisory and financial management.

NYSE-listed Artio Global Investors appointed investment industry expert Christopher Wright to its board of directors. He joined the audit, compensation, nominating and corporate governance committees.

Wright is chairman of Emerging Markets Alternatives, a director of Merifin Capital Group, and an advisor to Campbell Lutyens & Co and Hansa Capital LBG.

Until mid-2003 he was head of global private equity for Dresdner Kleinwort Capital and was a group board member of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, overseeing alternative assets in developed and emerging markets.

Cabot Lodge Securities opened an office in Tampa, FL, naming Paul Richardson as regional president.

Earlier in his career, Richardson co-founded and served as the CEO for Pointe Capital (now JHS Capital Advisors) in Boca Raton, FL. He sold his stake in 2009. He also founded Richardson Recruiting Services.

He is charged with growing Cabot Lodge in Florida, recruiting for the firm there, and supervising its financial advisors in the state as its municipal securities principal. He reports to chief executive Craig Gould, who is based in the New York City office.

US Bank hired four managing directors based in Cincinnati, OH, for Ascent Private Capital Management, its ultra high net worth business.

Christopher Baucom will provide portfolio services to individuals and family foundations.   

Meanwhile, Justin Stone will oversee services provided for families and foundations, while organizing educational and entertainment activities for wealthy families.  

Larry Lesko will work with UHNW individuals and families, serving as their chief financial officer.  

Lastly, Scott Mahon will focus on providing multi-generational planning, family governance and trust and fiduciary advisory services.  

The firm said all the appointees will also work closely with other Ascent professionals in the areas of financial administration and reporting, trust administration, fiduciary services, private banking, philanthropy, investments and family education.

James Staley, who headed up JP Morgan’s investment banking division, joined the investment firm BlueMountain Capital Management as a partner. He also bought a stake in the business.

Staley is a JP Morgan veteran, having joined the firm 34 years ago, going on to serve as head of the firm’s private bank, CEO of JP Morgan Asset Management, and later CEO of investment banking. He also co-founded the bank’s equities business.

He will use his extensive career to cultivate relationships for BlueMountain, as well as develop new strategies to capture market opportunities. He joined the firm’s management, risk and investment committees. 

He joined the following eight managing partners: Andrew Feldstein, Alan Gerstein, Peter Greatrex, Michael Liberman, Bryce Markus, David Rubenstein, Stephen Siderow and Derek Smith.

Iowa-headquartered Foster Group, an independent, fee-only financial advisory firm,  made organizational changes including a raft of executive promotions.

Founder and chief executive Jerry Foster assumed a new role as chairman of the board, while president Mark Stadtlander became CEO. Foster will serve in an advisory and accountability role, while serving as a mentor to the firm’s leaders.

In addition, shareholders Travis Rychnovsky, Buck Olsen and Kent Kramer were appointed as chief operating officer, chief marketing officer and chief investment officer, respectively.

Meanwhile, Ross Polking, COO of the Omaha, NE, office, and lead advisors Joe Bantz and Brad Rempe were named shareholders. Katie Lauer of the firm’s client services team is now an associate advisor.

Tim Ryan re-joined JP Morgan Chase as global head of regulatory strategy and policy.

Ryan, who was previously chief executive of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, will report to Matt Zames, co-chief operating officer for JPMorgan Chase.

The London-based chief investment officer of Citigroup’s private bank, Richard Cookson, left the US-headquartered bank as part of cost cuts and amid a series of changes to senior management roles.

Jamie Forese and Manuel Medina-Mora were named co-presidents of Citi. Forese is responsible for all of Citi’s institutional businesses, and Medina-Mora continues to oversee global consumer banking and Citi’s franchise in Mexico. The operations and technology functions supporting the institutional and consumer businesses now directly report to Forese and Medina-Mora, respectively.

Jim Cowles became CEO of Citi’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business. Brian Leach was appointed head of franchise risk and strategy and will be responsible for the bank’s audit, compliance, corporate policy and strategy functions in addition to risk management. Brad Hu, formerly head of risk for the Asia-Pacific region, became Citi’s chief risk officer and will report to Leach.

In his message to colleagues, Corbat said that Bill Mills, in addition to serving as CEO of North America, will now oversee community development as well as international franchise management, in which role he will have responsibility for corporate governance in the bank’s 101 countries.

Francisco Aristeguieta, CEO of Latin America, and Stephen Bird, CEO of Asia-Pacific, continue in their roles. John Gerspach continues as chief financial officer.

Gene McQuade continues to serve as CEO of Citibank, North America, while overseeing Citi holdings and Japan. Ed Skyler, head of public affairs, oversees the Citi Foundation in addition to his other responsibilities, which include branding and sponsorships, communications, and government affairs.

LPL Financial, the independent broker-dealer unit of LPL Financial Holdings, appointed Donie Lochan as executive vice president of its business technology services unit.

Based in San Diego, CA, Lochan will report to Victor Fetter, who last month joined LPL as chief investment officer and managing director of the business technology unit.

In his new role, Lochan will work on risk management, audit compliance, business continuity and disaster recovery planning, and information security. LPL said he will also play a key role in shaping and implementing its roadmap for technological expansion.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management added three advisors from Merrill Lynch and UBS in New Jersey.

Diane Alecci and Lynn Blanchard joined the wealth manager in Paramus, NJ, and operate as the D&L Group. They formerly worked at Merrill Lynch where they managed around $500 million in client assets and brought in $2.86 million in annual fees and commissions.

Meanwhile, Ralph Marra joined Morgan Stanley in Shrewsbury, NJ. He previously oversaw $150 million in client assets at UBS and had $2.1 million in production. He joined UBS in May 2008 following eight years at Merrill Lynch. He reports to branch manager Todd Sacks.

Raymond James Financial Services added former Wells Fargo advisors Carolyn Meakem and Traci Meakem Richmond in Bethesda, MD.

Meakem and Richmond operate as the Meakem Group, an independent firm with an office at 4800 Hampden Lane, Suite 200, in Bethesda. The pair previously managed over $200 million in assets, with an annual production of $2 million.

Meakem Group provides customized financial planning, investment management, estate preservation strategies, risk management, education planning and divorce planning.

Offshore legal and fiduciary services provider Appleby made changes to its leadership team.

Frances Woo moved up to group chairman, succeeding Peter Bubenzer who will be retiring from the group on March 31, 2013, after a career at Appleby of more than 32 years.

The firm also appointed a new global head of its corporate and commercial practice, Cameron Adderley, who succeeds Judith Collis, also retiring on March 31, 2013, after 27 years.

Adderley will relinquish his position on the group management company board, along with John Bisson, whose retirement was announced in September last year. Sean Dowling and Timothy Faries are the new GMC board members.

Franklin, TN-based CapWealth Advisors, a fee-based independent investment advisory firm, promoted Phoebe Venable to president and chief operating officer. 

Venable joined CapWealth as a managing principal in March of 2011 from GenSpring Family Offices. She launched GenSpring’s Nashville, TN, office in 2009 and served as the investment advisor for client families in the Southeastern US.

Peter Marshall of Canada-basedMatrix Asset Management resigned from the firm’s board of directors.

Marshall has been a member of the Matrix board since the firm launched in January of 2010.

Matrix said at the time that it expects to appoint a new board member before or at the time of the next annual meeting of shareholders.

Seattle-based Synergetic Financial Management appointed financial planning and investment analyst Katie Vercio as a wealth manager and business consultant.

Vercio will support the firm’s market and economic research, and financial planning process. Specifically, she will analyze equity and fixed income investments for the firm’s $100 million client portfolio, while analyzing individual client financial positions and making recommendations.

Nasdaq-listed T Rowe Price appointed Dr Freeman Hrabowski as an independent director.

Dr Hrabowski, a long-time educator and administrator, has served as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County since 1992. His research and publications focus on science and math education, with a focus on minority participation and performance.

Brian Rogers, chairman of T Rowe Price, said Dr Hrabowski’s leadership and dedication to greater education and advancement of minorities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics will play a key role in maintaining global competitiveness and strengthening the firm’s workforce and the economy.

WTAS, the US-based tax firm, kicked off 2013 with a string of senior promotions within its private client services practice, spanning Greenwich, CT, Boston, MA, and New York.

Michael Van De Loo, who spent the past seven years in the private client services practice, was named a managing director in Greenwich.

Meanwhile, in Boston, John Nestor, Kellie Neuhaus and Melinda Tuffy were made directors, while Sandrine Benevides was appointed as a director within the investment consulting services practice.

Lastly, James O'Brien was appointed as a director in New York. 

The aforementioned promotions were part of a total of 51 WTAS promotions overall, including four managing directors, 12 directors, six senior managers, 13 managers and 16 senior associates.

A R Schmeidler & Co, the New York City investment management firm, appointed Gregory Markel as a portfolio manager and research analyst.

Markel has 24 years of investment experience in New York and Massachusetts, having formerly served as a senior investment analyst at Iridian Asset Management.

Pioneer Investments hired David Glazer as a portfolio manager on its global equities team.

Glazer’s role is a new one at the firm that will see him based in Boston and report to Marco Pirondini, head of equities, US.

Glazer moved to the role from Franklin Templeton Global Advisers in New York City, where he specialized in global small- and mid-cap strategies. Before Franklin Templeton he worked at Boston Common Asset Management and Harbor Capital Management.

Gentry Wealth Management hired Marty Bender as a wealth advisor from Fidelity Investments.

Bender was at Fidelity for over 15 years and there managed around 450 client relationships worth some $750 million with the firm.

He was the latest addition to an expanding team at Gentry, after the firm tapped Fidelity for two wealth advisors for its Las Vegas, NV, office last August.

Ciccarelli Advisory Services added Steven Merkel as a financial advisor in Bonita Springs, FL.

Merkel was previously a managing director and portfolio manager at Piedmont Investment Advisors. There he was responsible for new business development and portfolio management of client assets.

R Thomas Manning took over as chief executive of Silver Bridge, replacing Stephen Prostano.

Manning has been president of Silver Bridge since 2011 and chief investment officer since 2007. At the moment it is unknown what Prostano’s next step will be.

United Kingdom

The UK Treasury hired McKinsey & Company employee Charles Roxburgh as director general, financial services. He replaced Jonathan Taylor, who was appointed vice-president, European Investment Bank. Roxburgh is responsible for all financial services-related issues, including financial stability and the financial system.

Cape Town-headquartered Sanlam Private Investments appointed Ian Porter as head of wealth management - a newly-created role in which he is charged with expanding the firm's UK wealth management footprint.

Porter spent five years as head of wealth management at Alexander Forbes Wealth, having previously been associate director and head of retirement solutions at Heartwood Wealth Management. He has also served as a private client advisor at HSBC Private Clients and as a senior consultant at Sedgwick Financial Services.

Harry Wulfsohn, who was a director and head of institutional business development at Stenham, the London-headquartered investment management group, left the business.

Baring Asset Management, the London-headquartered investment house which is part of MassMutual Financial Group, named Nicola Hayes as head of client service and relationship development.

Hayes replaced Tim Lord, who left Barings at the end of November after four years in the role.

Hayes joined Barings after 11 years at Invesco Perpetual, where she latterly served as associate director, global sales and relationship management – a role in which she spent the past four years overseeing the firm’s sales and marketing efforts outside of the UK.

UK-based Smith & Williamson Investment Management appointed Mickey Morrissey as director - head of UK IFA sales. Morrissey reports to Nick Hodgson, director - head of marketing and sales.

AXA Investment Managers confirmed the departure of Jon Bailie, the firm's London-based global head of distribution since January 2010.

Prior to joining AXA, Bailie held numerous positions at Russell Investments between 1993 and 2008, concluding his stint there as head of the alternatives investment group.

The wealth and investment management division of Barclays boosted its Liverpool office with the hire of private banker Jamie Mornington.

Mornington was latterly an inter-dealer broker for ICAP on the commodities floor, and joined Barclays through its “Embark” programme – an initiative whereby the firm recruits new blood from outside the wealth management sector.

The ECU Group, a currency asset and liability management firm appointed Oliver Hemsley and Francisco Soler as non-executive directors.

Hemsley and Soler joined alongside existing non-exec directors George Robb (chairman), Lady Rona Delves Broughton and David Robinson.

UK-listed Charles Stanley hired Douglas McNeill as investment director, ahead of the launch of the firm’s new direct-to-client investment service this year.

McNeill, who previously held positions at ABN Amro and Barclays de Zoete Wedd, transferred to Charles Stanley Direct from Charles Stanley Securities, the company’s institutional arm, where he worked for the past three years as a transport analyst.

Mark Boucher returned to Smith & Williamson Investment Management as a director and head of UK equities, as the firm strengthened its offering in this area.

Boucher, who left the firm in 2009 to join a US multi-strategy hedge fund, also resumed his former role as co-manager of the Enterprise Fund, alongside Rupert Fleming.

Kleinwort Benson, the London-headquartered wealth manager, hireded Jeremy Hippolite as executive director for business development and Glenn Baker as director, also in business development.

Hippolite, who was latterly at Standard Life Wealth, has more than 15 years’ experience in the financial management sector. Previously, he worked at Credit Suisse as UK sales director in its multi-asset class solutions team, and was also an employee of Coutts & Co, where he worked as a senior investment specialist (financial markets).

Investec Asset Management, part of UK- and South Africa-listed Investec appointed John Lester as a sales manager within its UK client group.

Reporting to Fergus McCarthy, sales director - strategic partnerships, Lester is part of the team responsible for driving Investec’s key UK marketplace relationships, following the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review, the firm said in a statement.

Lester, who has more than 15 years’ experience in the financial sector, was latterly head of distribution at Argonaut Capital Partners.

The Private Office unit of RBS-owned wealth manager and private bank Coutts hired Oliver Hart as a director. Based in London and reporting to Camilla Stowell, managing director, Coutts Private Office, he looks after the financial affairs of ultra-high net worth clients, whose assets will typically exceed £30 million (about $50 million) net, or those who have more than £10 million available to be invested.

Hart joined from Lloyds Private Banking, where he spent four years as a senior private banker, looking after UHNW private clients.

Jersey Finance, the organisation that promotes Jersey as an international financial centre, named Richard Corrigan as global head of business development. Corrigan assumes responsibility for Jersey Finance's offices in Abu Dhabi, India and Hong Kong. He also focuses on raising the profile of Jersey’s financial services industry in the UK, Europe and Russia.

Corrigan joined Jersey Finance from the banking sector, where he held senior roles, most recently as director for the wealth and investment management division of Barclays in Jersey.

UK-based Legal & General Investments confirmed that its managing director of investments, Simon Ellis, left the firm after three years of service.

Simon Pistelli, who was managing director for the RDR programme at L&G, replaced Ellis.

UK-listed Henderson Global Investors hired Paul O’Connor as director of multi-asset.

O’Connor joined from Mercer Investment Consulting, where he had been a partner and head of asset allocation for EMEA. Before joining Mercer in the summer of 2011 he spent 14 years at Credit Suisse as a strategist and proprietary trader.

Duncan Lawrie Private Bank bolstered its Bristol business with the appointment of senior private bankers Courtney Kerkin and Sandra Killen.

Kerkin joined Duncan Lawrie from Clydesdale Bank, where he was a business development partner, while Killen was latterly a corporate relationship officer at Allied Irish Bank.

UBS Wealth Management appointed a regional head for the north east, while hiring an executive director in Newcastle.

Aidan Dunstan spent the past 10 years at UBS as a senior client advisor and took the former role, while Andrew Elliot joined in Newcastle as an executive director reporting to Dunstan.

Elliot has 22 years of industry experience and formerly worked at the wealth and investment management division of Barclays.

Legal & General moved Geoff Towers, latterly managing director of platforms and distribution, to the newly-created role of managing director of UK and international savings – a position in which he oversees business development for the firm’s UK and international retail savings business.

Brown Shipley, the UK-based private bank, named Peter Stiles as head of its Manchester office – an appointment which closely followed that of a new Birmingham head.

Stiles, a 25-year veteran of Brown Shipley, oversees the firm’s investment management, banking and financial planning teams in Manchester, while also continuing to run client money.

UK law firm Thomas Eggar expanded its private client team with the appointment of tax advisor Andrew Watters. Watters joined as a director based in the London office, and focuses on growing the firm’s specialist contentious tax services practice.

Previously a director at Berwin Leighton Paisner, Watters also worked as a senior investigator in the Special Compliance Office of the Inland Revenue with a focus on high-profile cases of suspected tax avoidance and evasion.

WH Ireland’s acting chief executive since mid-December, Richard Killingbeck, obtained approval from the Financial Services Authority to continue in this role officially. Killingbeck is also head of private wealth management at the firm and took over as CEO on an interim basis from Paul Compton, who left the firm for unknown reasons. 

Killingbeck joined WH Ireland in September last year and was appointed as an executive board director in November. He was previously a managing director of Credit Suisse’s UK private banking business, a post he took up in April 2010.

Saffery Champness, the accountancy firm, named former UK tax authority senior manager Mick Downs as a consultant, based in its London office.

Downs works at Saffery Champness’s Landed Estates and Rural Business Group. Last year, he retired from HM Revenue and Customs, having worked at the organisation for almost 20 years. He was a technical specialist responsible for inheritance tax relief on National Heritage property (a form of state-protected property in the UK).

Carmignac Gestion, the French asset manager, bolstered its fixed income team in Paris with the addition of credit analyst Pierre Verlé.

Verlé works directly under Keith Ney, head of credit at Carmignac Gestion, contributing to the running of the firm’s four fixed income funds (Carmignac Global Bond, Carmignac Sécurité, Carmignac Capital Plus and Carmignac Court Terme), as well as to the fixed income portfolio of its Carmignac Patrimoine and Carmignac Emerging Patrimoine vehicles

Verlé previously served as co-manager of the distressed debt fund at Butler Investment Managers in London and as an analyst covering special situations principal investments at Morgan Stanley.

Baillie Gifford, the Edinburgh-based investment partnership, appointed three new partners with effect from 1 May 2013.

The new partners are: Spencer Adair, investment manager in the global alpha team; Kathrin Hamilton, director in the clients department responsible for North American clients; and Graham Laybourn, director of legal and regulatory risk. The firm will have a total of 39 partners from 1 May.

Intrinsic, the Swindon-headquartered national advisory firm hired Simon Brunt as chief financial officer, IFAonline reported.

Brunt joined Intrinsic in the summer of last year, having previously been finance director at Openwork. He succeeds David Capel after a six-month handover period, the publication said; Capel had served as CFO since Intrinsic was launched eight years ago by 2005 by Lord Leitch, now its chairman, who was the former global chief executive of Zurich Financial Services' life businesses.

Duncan Gwyther, chief investment officer of Quilter, newly-merged with Cheviot Asset Management, was named chairman of the FTSE APCIMS (Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers) Private Investor Indices Committee, taking over from the recently retired Mike Lenhoff.

Investec Wealth & Investment appointed Mike Archer as an investment director. In this role, Archer is responsible for developing IW&I’s presence in Dorset and the surrounding area. Archer, who has 32 years’ banking and wealth management experience, joined from Coutts, where he was client partner for the firm’s Dorset office.

Fidelity Worldwide Investment appointed Russell Lancaster as sales director in its UK retail team. Lancaster, reports to Ben Waterhouse, head of UK retail sales. Lancaster is responsible for development and delivery of Fidelity’s advisor strategy and will manage the existing regional sales team. He joined from RSA Group, where he was distribution director responsible for the company’s UK sales strategy.

Arbuthnot Latham & Co, the UK-based private bank, appointed Dan Saxby as director, private banking, recruiting him from Coutts, where he had been an executive director and wealth manager.

Quilter Cheviot, the newly-combined asset management firm, added Peter Butcher and Nigel Olliff from Quartet Capital Partners to its London-based investment management team. Butcher has 16 years of investment management experience, having worked for nine years at Killik & Co as a private client and branch manager before joining Quartet in 2009 as an investment manager and partner. Olliff has 12 years of experience, having started his investment management career with Adams & Remer.

Sheila Nicoll, director of conduct policy at the UK Financial Services Authority, decided to leave the organisation. It transitions to the Financial Conduct Authority in April. Nicoll joined the FSA from the Investment Management Association in October 2007 and became director of conduct policy in 2009.

Vestra Wealth appointed Heinz Schmid as fixed income strategist in its investment team. Schmid joined from Investec Wealth and Investment. He has previously worked at BNP Paribas, where he was head of UK fixed income and at HSBC Investment Management, where he managed the sterling fixed income team.

Invesco Perpetual appointed David Bower as its UK-based head of marketing for EMEA. In the newly-created role, Bower reports to Ian Trevers, head of distribution, with responsibility for the development and management of all marketing capabilities across the EMEA region. Bower, who will be based in the firm’s Henley office, joined from BlackRock where he held a number of senior distribution roles, most recently as head of EMEA marketing.

David Barron left his London-based post as head of investment trusts at JP Morgan Asset Management after 18 years at the firm. Barron joined JP Morgan Asset Management in 1995 and became head of investment trusts in 2003, having previously served as director of the product development group.

Baker & McKenzie appointed Paul Rawlinson as managing partner of the London office for a three-year term, starting from the beginning of July this year. He had been an intellectual property partner at the firm since 1995, having joined as a trainee back in 1986. Rawlinson has been a member of the London office management committee since January 2011 as well as during the years from 2001 to 2004.

Altius Associates, the private equity advisory and fund of funds firm, appointed Joachim Suter as a partner in its EMEA investor relations team. Suter is based in the London office, reporting to Dr Eric Warner, head of the global investor relations team. Suter joined from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, where he was senior vice president, private placement, overseeing unlisted investment products across Switzerland, Italy and Luxembourg.

Scoban, the new UK private bank, brought in Graeme Hartop as managing director - a role he previously held for nine years at Scottish Widows Bank, part of the Lloyds Banking Group.

Stenham Asset Management appointed a senior research analyst, Akshay Krishan, focused on global macro strategies, while also adding to its operational due diligence team. Krishnan has seven years of investment experience and a background in derivatives and risk management. Prior to joining Stenham, he was a senior analyst at SAIL Advisors in Hong Kong, where he led research in relative value and global macro strategies. Rishi Patel joined as a senior operational due diligence analyst to help review existing and potential future investments. Patel also has seven years of investment experience and previously worked as head of operational due diligence at Momentum Global Investment Management.

Lord North Street, the private investment office, appointed Sonia de Luca and Eirian Jones as directors while it also brought on board Edward Tollemache as a client portfolio manager. Previously a 13-year veteran of JP Morgan Private Bank in Geneva and Zurich, de Luca is now a director of Lord North Street Switzerland. Jones is head of Lord North Street’s investment team in London and has been with the firm since 2005. Tollemache recuited from the multi-family office Fleming Family & Partners, where managed private client portfolios since 2002. He now reports to Drew McNeil, director in charge of client portfolio management at Lord North Street.

Switzerland

Alfred Moeckli was due to be the next chief executive of Vaduz-based VP Bank Group. He was due to start on 1 May 2013. Moeckli spent the past fifteen years as CEO of various banks and financial services companies, most recently bank zweiplus ag.

Geneva-headquartered Reyl Bank appointed two new partners: Christian Fringhian and Lorenzo Rocco di Torrepadula. Fringhian had been responsible for business development at Reyl. His earlier career included roles at Barclays Capital, at Deutsche Bank - in Paris and London - and at JP Morgan. di Torrepadula, who joined Reyl in Geneva in 2002, was deputy head of wealth management for Switzerland. He previously worked for San Paolo IMI in New York and Credit Suisse First Boston in London.

Former senior BNP Paribas wealth management executive Eric Morin was appointed as managing director and chief executive for Bank Sarasin in its Singapore branch, and Southeast Asia. Morin, who is based in Singapore, reports to Enid Yip, chief executive for Asia. At BNP Paribas, where Morin had worked since 1987, he was most recently deputy CEO for Southeast Asia, market manager for international wealth management and other Asian markets, and a member of the Asian wealth Management executive committee.

Switzerland’s GAM Holding announced it will change its operating model from its current “pure financial holding company” and combine management roles to operate as a more streamlined business, creating the new role of group chief executive. At GAM’s ordinary annual meeting and the end of his term on 17 April, Johannes de Gier, current chairman and CEO of GAM Holding, was due to stand for re-election to the board of directors to solely retain his role as chairman. David Solo, CEO of GAM Holding’s two operating businesses, assumed assume the newly-created role of group CEO. Board of director members de Gier, Dieter Enkelmann and Hugh Scott-Barrett, whose terms of office were to expire in April, agreed to stand for re-election. The board was also due to nominate Tanja Weiher for election as a new independent member.

Swiss & Global Asset Management set up a dedicated team to take care of independent asset managers and family offices in Switzerland. The firm has appointed Remo Badertscher and Markus Lienert to its Zurich-based sales unit to focus on this section of its client base. Badertscher joined from MAN Investments where he was senior relationship manager. Lienert also joined from MAN, where he looked after independent asset managers and banks in Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Europe

Exchange-traded product provider Source promoted five staff. Ludovic Djebali and Stefan Garcia were promoted to managing director and co-head of sales, while Pierre Olivier Cohen became an executive director for Frabelux (France, Belgium and Luxembourg) sales. Fabrizio Palmucci stepped up to director, fixed income specialist and Jasmin Stoschek became an associate for marketing.

Royal Bank of Canada appointed David McLaughlin as a Dublin-based business development director within its private client wealth management team.

Reporting to Philip Harris, head of UK private clients, McLaughlin works with RBC Wealth Management's client-facing professionals in London and offshore to develop and manage relationships with intermediaries and advisors in Ireland. McLaughlin was latterly an investor relations consultant at Elan, a biotechnology firm.

Carmignac Gestion appointed Keith Ney as co-manager of its European bond fund, Carmignac Sécurité. Ney works alongside Carlos Galvis within the fixed-income team headed by Rose Ouahba. He also continues his current responsibilities as head of credit, overseeing the firm’s global credit exposure and credit analyst team.

Ney has has been with Carmignac Gestion for eight years. After starting as global analyst, he co-managed Carmignac Market Neutral before becoming head of credit.

Stonehage Group added Rupert Hague-Holmes as a Jersey-based director within its private client and trust arm. Hague-Holmes joined from Kleinwort Benson, where he was head of legal services and group legal director working with the firm’s trust/fiduciary business. He spent the previous eight years as a managing director at Close Brothers, responsible for legal, risk, human resources and group secretarial matters across Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and South Africa.

Amundi, the French asset management house backed by Credit Agricole and Societe Generale, appointed Christian Pellis as global head of external distribution. Pellis joined the firm at the start of this year, having previously worked as head of distribution at LGT Capital Management.

Meriten Investment Management, BNY Mellon’s German-based investment manager, named Holger Fahrinkrug as chief economist, following the departure of Dr Holger Sandte. Fahrinkrug reports to chief executive Werner Taiber. He joined Meriten from Portigon/WestLB, where he was chief economist and head of research.

Deutsche Bank made two senior appointments to roles representing the bank to the world of media and European policymaking. Dr Hans-Dieter Holtzmann took over as head of Deutsche Bank's EU representation in Brussels. Meanwhile, Ansgar Tietmeyer took up the role head of Deutsche Bank’s public affairs department in Berlin.

Generali, parent of the Swiss private banking group BSI, appointed Carsten Schildknecht as chief operating officer, taking up the role on 1 April. Schildknecht most recently had been COO of asset and wealth management and chairman of the supervisory board of Sal Oppenheim, the German wealth management business that had been acquired by Deutsche Bank. For eight years, he was also global COO of the wealth management arm of Deutsche Bank. Nikhil Srinivasan was also named the new group chief investment officer. Srinivasan previously worked in Allianz Group from 2003, holding several investment functions. He has been group CIO of Allianz Investment Management and a member of Allianz’s international executive committee.

Credit Suisse made 11 promotions in the Channel Islands. Rachael Bearder (business support), Steve Eldred (relationship management) and Andy Phillips (relationship management), were promoted to the position of director, while Michael Amstad (front-office support) and Wayne Walden (CS trust) were made vice-presidents.

Meanwhile, the six people promoted to assistant vice-president were: Matthew Bailey (relationship management), James Bolton (CS trust), Wendy Cook (IT), Tanya Gibson (order fulfilment), Paul Le Gallez (external asset managers) and James Olliver (relationship management).

RiverRock European Capital Partners added Dr Thomas Mirow - latterly president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - to its senior advisory board. Between 2008 and 2012, Mirow served as the fifth president of the EBRD in London.

International

UBS named Andre Cronje, former wealth management chief executive for the UK and Jersey, as chief operating officer of its investment bank. Cronje replaced Sam Molinaro, who was appointed as COO last March, although Michelle Bereaux took over on an interim basis at the start of November 2012.

Pioneer Investments hired Jon Bailie as head of western Europe and Latin America, to be based in London. He was due to join in April from AXA Investment Managers, where he was global head of distribution and a member of the firm's executive committee. Bailie reports to chief executive Sandro Pierri - who had been holding Bailie's role on an interim basis following Pierri's appointment as CEO in July 2012 - and was to be a member of the Pioneer management committee.

Sharjah-headquartered United Arab Bank appointed Simon Taylor as head of its Sadara Wealth Management subsidiary. Taylor started his wealth management career at Prudential Assurance and spent 19 years in a range of wealth management, retail banking, mortgage and credit risk positions with Lloyds Banking Group. He moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2004 from his former base in central Scotland to join Lloyds’ international wealth team in the offshore banking division.

EFG International appointed former senior Merrill Lynch manager Carlos Valle to be chief executive for the Caribbean, replacing Ludovic Chechin-Laurans, who moved to Switzerland last year to take charge of private banking in Geneva while also becoming deputy CEO of EFG Bank.

Offshore legal and fiduciary services provider Appleby changed its leadership team.

Frances Woo moved up to group chairman, succeeding Peter Bubenzer who was to retire on 31 March after a career at Appleby of more than 32 years.

Appleby also appointed a new global head of its corporate and commercial practice, Cameron Adderley, who succeeded Judith Collis, also retiring on 31 March 2013, after 27 years.

Asia-Pacific

Greencape Capital, the Australian boutique equity specialist, bolstered its investment team with the appointment of Jonathan Koh. Koh joined the firm from BlackRock, where he served as vice president and equity analyst for the fundamental Asian equity division. 

AMP Financial Services, the Australian investment firm, appointed a new director for its wealth advisory business. Paul Robertson took on the role of managing director at Genesys Wealth Advisors, a licensee of AMP's Financial Advise Network. He replaced John Saint, who has left the firm.

Macquarie Group, the Australian financial services firm, named a new head for its wealth management business in Perth. Justin Mannolini is now the executive director of Macquarie Capital, the wealth management and real estate services division of Macquarie Group. 

Australia and New Zealand Bank named a new head for the advisory arm of its wealth management business.  Darren Whereat took on the role of chief executive of RI Advice Group, a division of ANZ's wealth protection arm OnePath.

Credit Suisse named a new chief executive for Australia, coming shortly after announcing another top-level appointment in the Asia-Pacific region. Effective as of this month, Rob Stewart assumed the top role in the country in addition to his existing responsibilities as co-head of the investment banking department.

Acadian Asset Management Australia, the joint venture between Boston-based Acadian Asset Management and Colonial First State Investments, appointed a financial services veteran to the newly-created role of investment head. David Walsh brings over 24 years of industry experience to the role, 15 of which involved senior Australian equity quantitative capacities. 

Fidelity Worldwide Investment, the US-based asset management firm, strengthened its operational capacity in Australia – Eric Wang joined the firm as chief operating officer after serving as managing director at wealth management consultancy Sunstone Partners. 

Perpetual Private, the wealth advisory business of Perpetual Limited, bolstered its philanthropy division with a new manager. Caitriona Fay took up the role of philanthropic services manager after serving as senior program manager at The Ian Potter Foundation. 

Natixis Global Asset Management, the France and US-headquartered asset manager, strengthened its Singapore office with a senior appointment. Madeline Ho joined the firm as head of wholesale distribution for Asia-Pacific and managing director of NGAM Singapore.

Eastspring Investments, the Asian asset management business of UK-based Prudential Financial, appointed a new chief executive for Japan. Koji Wada officially assumes his role on 25 January, following the resignation of Felix Pang.

Old Mutual Asset Management, the US-based asset management arm of UK's Old Mutual, strengthened its Asian business efforts with the appointment of a new head of the institutional advisory unit. Based in Hong Kong, Miranda Poon represents the company's affiliates in Asia ex-Japan, responsible for marketing its products and services, as well as its affiliates' through a joint effort with OMAM's sister company Skandia Global Funds (Asia-Pacific). 

Credit Agricole, , which uses the name Crédit Agricole Private Banking in Asia, unveiled a series of leadership changes in the region. Roland Feser, chief executive of Crédit Agricole Suisse, Singapore branch, will retire in March after a 38-year career with the Crédit Agricole group. His successor is Sen Sui, currently the Hong Kong-based head of markets and investment solutions in Asia. Sui will start to transition to Singapore this month.Sui's role will be taken over by current head of foreign exchange and precious metals advisory for Asia, Victor Choi.

BNY Mellon, the global investment management and investment services firm, named Eric Fu as a managing director within the firm’s intermediary distribution team. The move is part of efforts to widen and deepen the US bank's Asia-Pacific footprint. 

ABN AMRO Private Banking strengthened its service offering for high net worth individuals in Asia and the Middle East, recruiting 11 new specialist staff members in Singapore and Hong Kong. The hires include a seven-strong team from ANZ Bank in Singapore, which is focusing on servicing ABN AMRO Private Banking’s international clients segment.

JP Morgan Asset Management named a new marketing head for Asia-Pacific. Heidi Sutton assumed the based in Hong Kong.

Lazard, the US-based financial advisory and asset management firm, named a new senior advisor for the Asia-Pacific region. Jesse Bhattal was previously president and chief executive of Nomura's global wholesale division, and chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers Asia. 

Asia Pacific chairman of BlackRock, the investment, risk management and advisory services firm, was appointed by the chief executive of Hong Kong to become a non-official member of the newly launched Financial Services Development Council.

BlackRock, the US-based investment management firm, appointed a new chairman for its China business. Hsueh Wang stepped in from Goldman Sachs, where she was an advisory director and chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Credit Suisse appointed Neil Harvey as chief executive for Hong Kong and co-CEO for Greater China, a newly created role. Harvey shares responsibilities as co-CEO, Greater China with Liping Zhang, who maintains his position as vice chairman, global investment banking department.

Pictet & Cie, the Swiss private bank, strengthened its Greater China fund team with two senior appointments. Pauline Dan is now head of the Greater China fund unit, while David Chen assumes the role of senior investment manager.

Japan financial services giant Mizuho Financial announced a new management structure that includes the transfer of control of an entire division. Mizuho Securities became a directly-held unit of the firm, as part of an effort to bring all the company's businesses under one umbrella. The bank did not specify any change in positions.

Singapore hedge fund APS Asset Management named Raymond Lim, a former Cabinet minister, as its new chairman. Lim assumed the top role at the firm after serving as senior advisor and independent director since January 2012. He took over from Wong Kok Hoi, who continues on his other duties as founder and chief investment officer.
 
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, the international law firm, added Rose Zhu as partner to its China office. Zhu joined from K&L Gates where she specialised in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and bank financing transactions. She is based in Beijing.
 
Government of Singapore-owned sovereign wealth fund GIC announced the retirement of its group chief investment oficer Ng Kok Song, who leaves after 42 years with the firm. He was succeeded by Lim Chow Kiat, who was then deputy CFO. Lim joined GIC in 1993.
 
Richmond Fiduciary Group, the Guernsey-headquartered investment firm, named Jing Zhang as head of the newly-established representative office in Jing'an District, Shanghai, China. Zhang previously worked for Iveco, an Italian commercial vehicle firm under the Fiat Industrial Group. 
 
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing's chief financial officer Stephen Jeffrey Marzo resigned from his post in 13 January and passed the responsibility to then deputy CFO Vincent Kwong Yau Shing on an acting basis. The HKEx said that Marzo left in good terms with the company and that a selection committee would be created to identify his replacement.
 
Citigroup's private banking arm confirmed the departure of chief investment officer Richard Cookson, as part of cost cuts and a series of changes to senior management roles. In a report by Bloomberg, the bank said there was "no longer a need for a single individual to formulate the firm's investment strategy and asset allocation." Included in the transition is the change in Brad Hu's role from head of risk for the Asia-Pacific region to chief risk officer, reporting to Brian Leach, who was named head of franchise risk and strategy. Changes were also announced in other regions.
 
Manulife Asset Management hired Andrew John O as senior portfolio manager focused on Korean equities. Based in Hong Kong, he now works closely with the Hong Kong-based equity team and other teams across Asia, while reporting to Ronald CC Chan, the head of equities for Asia. 
 
Blackstone, the alernative investment manager, named Gautam Banerjee as chairman of Blackstone Singapore, a newly-created position. Banerjee joined from PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore, where he worked for 30 years. At Blackstone, he also joins the international advisory board. 
 
BNY Mellon, the US asset management firm, appointed Rosemarie Kriesel as country executive and general manager for Hong Kong. Kriesel brings over 25 year of industry experience to the role. She previously served as head of global client management for Hong Kong, which she will continue to hold while reporting to Eleni Wang, the head of global client management for Asia-Pacific. With her new role, she also now reports to Steve Lackey, chairman for Asia-Pacific. 
 
AMP Capital hired portfolio management specialists for its alternatives arm in Australia. Dr Alistair Rew stepped in as senior portfolio manager, while Celine Nguyen became portfolio manager. Rew brings over eight years of investment management experience, having worked in New York, London and Sydney, while Nguyen has over six years' experience as a research analyst at EIM Management in the US.
 
Bank of Singapore appointed 11 veteran bankers to its Greater China team. The hires comprise seven bankers for the Hong Kong office and four in Singapore. Three of the 11 are team heads, namely Michael Chan, Nancy Jin and Joel Lim. Chan and Jin are Hong Kong-based, while Lim is based in Singapore. The other bankers include Denise Ma, Teresa Fung and Winnie Wong in Hong Kong, and Vanessa Bock and Charine Wong in Singapore. The appointmens bring the firm's total Greater China headcount to almost 100.
 
Westpac Banking Corporation added Ewen Crouch to its board of directors. Crouch joined in an independent non-executive position after serving as chairman of partners at Allens, an Australian law firm. He is known for his work in some of the most significant merger and acquisition transactions in Australia.
 
UK headquartered Standard Chartered named Erwin Sanft as the new head of equity research for its Hong Kong and China operations. Sanft joined from BNP Paribas, where he served as chief strategist for Asia equities. In his new role, he reports to Dave Murray, head of equity research and is based in Hong Kong.