Geneva-based Banque PrivĂ©e Edmond de Rothschild has appointed HervĂ© de Montlivault to head its private banking department as deputy chief executive, effective from April.

De Montlivault joins from Credit Suisse, where he had worked since 2005. After having initially joined the Swiss banking giant in Paris, he then went on in 2010 to work in Geneva in charge of products and then in Zurich as market area head. Before Credit Suisse he worked for JP Morgan and Citibank.

De Montlivault succeeds Michel Lusa, who has served as interim head of Edmond de Rothschild’s private banking department since the summer of last year.

Earlier this month La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild, a Geneva-based unit of Edmond de Rothschild, opened its doors in London to serve clients and consultants in the UK and Europe.

Charles Goodman, managing director of the new London office, currently leads a team of six, although the firm said it plans to increase this figure to about 10 through local hires by the end of the year. Goodman has been with La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild since 1994, most recently as head of institutional sales in Geneva.  

The group already manages some ÂŁ1.1 billion ($1.7 billion) from London, but plans to lift this total to ÂŁ2 billion by the end of 2013. The current ÂŁ1.1 billion represents primarily transferred business, as well as new clients the firm said would not have been possible to acquire without a London presence.

The Edmond de Rothschild Group was established in 1953 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild. The group is now controlled by his son, Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, who founded La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild in 1989.

While the group has historically focused on Continental Europe, it said it is currently expanding its footprint in the UK. It also has a presence in Asia, South America and the Middle East.