Here is a roundup of moves in the world's wealth management sector during May.

SQN Capital Management, the alternative investment fund manager, appointed Dawn Kendall as managing director of SQN Asset Management. Kendall previously was a partner and portfolio manager at TwentyFour Asset Management. She started her career at SG Warburg (now UBS), and has since held senior investment and management positions at Newton, Axa (Architas), and Investec Wealth & Investment as well as at TwentyFour.

HSBC Private Banking made a range of appointments. Nathan Dosanjh joined the firm's Birmingham team as a relationship manager. He joined from Investec Wealth Management, where he was business development director and responsible for the West Midlands. The Birmingham branch also recently recruited Adrian Hogg as a strategic financial planner. He transferred to HSBC's private banking unit from HSBC Premier. Darren Watkins joined HSBC Private Banking in the Southwest and Wales, also from Premier. While there, he worked with high net worth clients for seven years.

Fairstone Group appointed Paul Adams and Simon McGechie as independent financial advisors. Adams joined from Ascot Lloyd and is an independent, whole-of-market advisor. McGechie also joined as an independent financial advisor from Ascot Lloyd. Together, the duo brought over 300 clients and assets under management of almost £30 million to the group.

EFG International appointed Michael Vlahovic as its new head of private banking in the UK, taking over from Daniel Gerber, who left the business. Vlahovic is based in London, reporting to Anthony Cooke-Yarborough, Head of UK Region and member of EFG International’s executive committee. Vlahovic joined EFG in Zurich in 2015 as managing director for Eastern Europe and Russia, and was also appointed global market coordinator for Russia/CIS. He will continue this market coordinator role alongside his new responsibilities. Before joining EFG, Vlahovic was at Coutts from 2010 to 2015, where he was a member of the general management committee with responsibility for the bank's business in Russia/CIS, as well as being chairman of the management committee of its Monaco branch. Previously, he spent 15 years at Credit Suisse where, from 2006 to 2010, he was MD, head of private banking, covering Russia, Central Europe, Central Asia and Greece.

The Isle of Man-based investment product provider, Utmost Wealth, shed one of its senior managers following a review of its structure. Simon Willoughby, head of proposition at the firm, which was created out of AXA Isle of Man, left the business. Willoughby was at AXA Wealth International for nearly five years and remained there after it was acquired by Life Companies Consolidation Group (LCCG), the insurance company consolidator, in 2016. It subsequently rebranded as Utmost Wealth.

Millennium Global, which is operated out of London, appointed former Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management chief executive Charles Goodman as business development head. He reports to Mark Astley, CEO. Before his prior role as CEO of Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (UK) Ltd, he was head of institutional sales for Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management Suisse, based in Geneva.
Nomura Asset Management appointed Jon Nash as business development director, a newly-created role. He is based in London and reports to Robert Woolf, head of business development at the firm. Nash focuses on developing the group’s fund distribution strategy for its product solutions to the UK-and Ireland-based fund managers, private banks, advisors and family offices. He joined from UBS Wealth Management, where he most recently worked as an alternatives distribution specialist.

1825, part of UK-listed financial group Standard Life, appointed Mark Tootill as managing director, Tim Johnson as financial planning director and Steve Lloyd as financial planning and client services director for its business in the Northeast of the UK. Toothill previously was at St James’s Place Wealth Management where he was senior partnership development manager; he is a chartered financial planner with nearly 25 years’ experience in the industry. Johnson has worked at St James’s Place for more than 20 years.

Law firm Ogier hired two client and trust lawyers in the Channel Islands, expanding the number of partners to 52. James Campbell joined the firm in Jersey, while Gavin Ferguson joined Ogier’s Guernsey office. Campbell has experience advising professional trustees, family offices, intermediaries and high net worth families on aspects of Jersey trusts, foundations and estate planning. Ferguson, a Guernsey and British Virgin Islands law specialist, provides contentious and non-contentious fiduciary services to high net worth individuals, corporate clients and charities.

Brewin Dolphin appointed former Coutts senior figure Grant Parkinson as chief operating officer. He replaced Thomas Lack, who left earlier this year. Parkinson reports to David Nicol, chief executive. New Zealand-born, Parkinson worked for a total of 10 years at McKinsey & Company and Barclays Wealth before joining Coutts as executive director in July 2012. In June 2013, he was promoted to the role of COO. Parkinson was also chairman of RBS Asset Management Holdings and a board member of RBS Services (Switzerland). (Coutts named James Clarry as new COO, taking over from Parkinson. Clarry continued his role of leading the lending and capital management team at the private bank.)

JP Morgan Asset Management appointed Tatyana Dachyshyn as an executive director and client advisor, working within its global liquidity sales team for Europe, Middle East and Africa, as the bank looks to grow its presence in Europe. Dachyshyn is responsible for business development in Germany and Austria and work with short-term fixed income solution investors. She is based in London and reports to Jim Fuell, head of global liquidity sales. Prior to JP Morgan, she worked at Commerzbank in London, where she served as director in global client development in securities finance. Dachyshyn has experience in German and Austrian banking. 

UK investment manager Tilney appointed Craig de Jong as a financial planner to its Guildford office. de Jong delivers the firm's expert service to clients alongside its investment managers to provide wealth management advice. He joined from Santander, where he was a financial planning manager. Prior to Santander, he worked as a premier client manager for high net worth private clients at HSBC.

Tilney also appointed Lee Harris to its Exeter office as financial planner. Harris joined from HSBC, where he was a premier relationship manager and wealth advisor for nine years.  At HSBC, he covered areas such as investing, protection, retirement and estate planning. He has more than 25 years' industry experience.

Henderson Global Investors appointed Steve Weeple as a portfolio manager within its global growth equities team. Weeple reports to head of the department Ian Warmerdam. The team is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He held various senior investment positions at Standard Life Investments, including director of equity research and head of US equities.

Investment manager Redmayne-Bentley appointed a trio to its teams in London and the Southeast. Frank Martin and Richard Auld, both formerly of Charles Stanley, joined the firm as investment managers at its London office. Redmayne-Bentley’s Henley-on-Thames office also welcomed investment manager Duncan Graham. Both Martin and Auld joined from Charles Stanley, where they worked for almost nine years.

Standard Life Wealth promoted John Hair to the position of chief investment officer. The firm also promoted Julie-Ann Ashcroft to head of investments, working alongside Darren Ripton. Hair reports directly to Richard Charnock, chief executive, and he is responsible for the overall performance of the company’s investment portfolios. He will form part of the leadership team based in London. Ashcroft reports into Hair, and took overall responsibility for the company’s conventional portfolios, as well as, managing The Balanced Bridge Fund and the Standard Life Wealth Offshore Income Fund.

Ripton continued in his role as head of investments and will be responsible for overseeing the Standard Life Wealth’s Target Return portfolios. Both Hair and Ashcroft moved to Standard Life Wealth following the acquisition of Newton private client business in 2013.

Sanlam UK appointed three new senior members to its wealth division: Charlie Parker, Paula Eddery and Katrina Usher.

GWM Investment Management, part of the GWM Group, appointed Rob Hodgson as senior wealth manager. Hodgson is responsible for the expansion of the business across Europe, as well as working with Joseph Clark on business development and client retention. The expansion sees Hodgson reunited with former Lloyds PB colleagues Paul Allen and Tom Milson.

Heartwood Investment Management appointed Chris Whittingham as intermediary client director. He joined from AV Trinity, where he was a business development management, responsible for implementing new initiatives and developing new client relations.

Weatherbys Private Bank, the UK lender, appointed Douglas Noble as senior advisor as it looks to grow Scottish operations. Noble has more than 40 years’ experience in private banking and joined the firm from Brown Shipley, where he developed its private banking operations in Scotland with a focus on lending.

Brown Shipley appointed Michael Pos, naming him head of product and proposition. In total, Pos has more than 20 years' industry experience. Most recently, he spent eight years with Towry, four of which he acted as head of corporate development.

Nucleus Financial Group, a wrap platform founded in 2006, appointed John Levin to its board of directors. Levin, co-founder of Certua, a technology platform, became the third advisor-appointed representative to the Nucleus board.

 

North America moves in May 
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management appointed Fernando Nicolau to its Miami office as an international financial advisor. Nicolau works with Andre Mendes and Pedro Paulo Silva, the firm’s Brazil team serving the LatAm ultra-high net worth market. He joined from JP Morgan Private Bank, where he was responsible for more than $1 billion in client assets. Nicolau has more than 17 years’ experience in the sector and started his career at Citibank, where he spent 13 years working in Brazil, New York and Miami.

Merrill Lynch brought in a team of financial advisors based in two New York offices, forming the SEAM Wealth Management Group. The advisors were Maureen Hulbert, Salvatore Romano, Allan Fiore, Eric Williams, Stephen Rosamino, and Adam Minor-Swartz. They came from Ayco Company, a Goldman Sachs company.. The team joined the Saratoga Springs office, with the exception of Allan Fiore who is based in the Rockefeller Plaza office in New York City. 

Canada-headquartered financial services group Manulife appointed Roy Gori as president. He replaced current president and chief executive, Donald Guloien, who retired. Gori became president. Gori was a senior executive vice president and general manager of Manulife’s Asia division. As president, Gori is responsible for developing and executing the firm’s business strategy. Phil Witherington became the firm’s interim CEO. Gori joined the firm in 2015 from Citi, where he served as head of consumer banking, North Asia and Australia, and regional head of retail banking APAC.

CIBC Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management appointed that Linda S Beerman as head of the wealth strategies group that she had created in 2001. Over the last 16 years at CIBC Atlantic Trust, Beerman held a number of leadership roles, including those of chief fiduciary officer.

The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning has appointed Rochelle Zeidman as its managing director, development, a newly-minted role through which she will push for more diversity in the industry and improve development of the workforce. Zeidman raised more than $600 million in campaigns and fundraising. At the American National Red Cross, she increased support by forming and managing an executive Fortune 100 Corporate Council as well as developing a branded initiative, the Annual Disaster Giving Program. As Executive Director of Individual Giving at NPR, she created partnerships and led efforts to significantly increase donations by individuals. She also held development roles at United Way Worldwide, NEXUS Global Youth Summit and the Jewish Federation.

RBC Wealth Management appointed financial advisor in Houston, Kevin Roberts, joining from Morgan Stanley. Roberts has 20 years’ industry experience and oversees $309 million in assets, with production of $1.4 million. 

Dynasty Financial Partnersp appointed industry veteran Mason Salit as director of network development for its Eastern Division. Salit reported to Dynasty Financial Partners’ chief executive Shirl Penney. Salit is based in the firm’s New York office and supports advisory firms in the Midwest and East Coast.  Previously, Salit worked at Bank Leumi USA where he was head of US private banking. From 2012-2014, Salit was wealth market leader at TD Wealth.  Prior to that, he was the head of international private banking in New York at the HSBC Private Bank from 2007-2012.

Raymond James brought over a $1 million team from Wells Fargo to join its Omaha, Nebraska branch. Financial advisors and father and son Steven Friedman and Jeremy Friedman joined from Wells Fargo Advisors, where they managed around $130 million in client assets and had more than $1 million in annual production. They operate as Friedman Financial Partners of Raymond James and are located at Raymond James’ Omaha branch, led by Tim Ziola. Rennee Johnson, senior client service associate, also joined the team.

Steven Friedman has more than 50 years’ experience in financial services, while his son Jeremy is a relatively-new player having started his career in 2010. Johnson has more than 14 years’ financial services experience.

Raymond James recruited two financial advisors to join its office in Kansas City, Missouri, according to David Sisemore, Midwest regional director. Jeff Holloway and Sean Harman joined from Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, where they managed $275 million in client assets and had around $1.4 million in production. They were joined by senior registered associate Betty Wilson, senior client associate Amanda Miller and registered associate Whitney Scobee. Together, they operate as Holloway Harman & Associates, offering securities through Raymond James.

HighTower launched a new wealth management firm based in West Palm Beach, Florida, which oversees around $160 million in client assets. PDS Wealth Management, led by managing director Tom Parker, joined HighTower's network from Merrill Lynch. Other members of the team include Patrick Dugan, Paul Spencer and Tommy Parker. All three are directors.

Raymond James named industry veteran Richard Grobman as new head of its Philadelphia location, said Tony Barrett, Delaware Valley complex manager. Alongside administrative manager Dawn DeAngelo, supports 10 advisors and six service associates overseeing more than $1.5 billion in assets. The pair have worked together for more than 26 years. Grobman, managing director of investments and Philadelphia branch manager, joined Florida-headquartered Raymond James following a 30-year stint with Oppenheimer and predecessor company WH Newbold’s Son & Co.

UBS Asset Management has named Suni Haford as head of investments. She oversees around 500 investment employees and approximately $600 billion of assets. Based in New York, she reports to Ulrich Koerner, president. Harford joined from Citigroup, where she worked for 24 years. Most recently, she was regional head of markets for North America for nine years.

Northern Trust appointed Elisa Shevlin Rizzo has as senior fiduciary officer and senior legal counsel. Rizzo Rizzo is responsible for delivering fiduciary service, legal counsel and advice to trust advisors, wealth advisors, advisory account managers and wealth strategists. She reports to John Hoffman, president of Greater New York, Wealth Management. Previously, Rizzo was with Fiduciary Trust Company International for seven years as managing director, trust counsel and, most recently, director of estate administration.

RBC Wealth Management brought over the Core Group to the Boston and Century City offices from Morgan Stanley. Joining the Boston office, led by Brian Katz, Boston complex director, were Alexander Sugar, CFP®, managing director and financial advisor, with 30 years of industry experience; Alex Davis, vice president and financial advisor, with 17 years of experience; Sheila Golden, senior registered client associate, with 31 years of experience; and Annie Tse, senior registered client associate, who has 10 years of experience. In Century City and Newport Beach are Graham O’Kelly, CFA®, SVP and financial advisor (15 years' experience); Grant DeVaul, SVP, financial advisor (22 years' experience) and Taylor Biehn, financial advisor (four years).  Tricia Moses, senior business associate, with 10 years of experience, also joined. The Century City and Newport Beach offices are led by Mike Melton, Director of the Southern California complex. Sugar and DeVaul pioneered the focus on family wealth management after co-founding the Core Group at Bear Stearns in 1995.

RBC Wealth Management0 appointed Amit Sahasrabudhe as head of strategy and technology, the newly-created role. Sahasrabudhe reports to chief executive Michael Armstrong.
Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management brought in three new advisors to its Leawood, Kansas office, according to Mark Borcherding, branch director. Paul DeBey, senior vice president; Chris Cassaday, vice president; Jeff Bahnson, vice president; and April Emeola, client associate, joined from UBS Financial Services. The team manages $262 million of assets and has more than $1.7 million in production. Collectively, they have more than 100 years' experience.

A venture capital firm focused entirely on backing cybersecurity businesses brought in a former chief executive at a company in this space as a partner. Allegis Capital, based in northern California, appointed David DeWalt, former CEO at FireEye. Among other roles, DeWalt has been chief executive at cybersecurity big-hitter McFee, and held executive roles at EMC.

Citi Private Bank appointed Jacob Alvarez as a private banker on the Metro New York team. Alvarez reports to Ida Liu, and is responsible for providing wealth management services to New York-based clients and financial sponsor clients. He joined from JP Morgan Private Bank, where he was a member of the financial sponsors group.

Jefferies, the investment bank and trading firm, appointed a team worth $7.3 million from Wells Fargo Miami, as the company bolstered its wealth management operation. Marcelo Poliak and Pablo Gherardi are managing directors, Guillermo Guerra joined as senior vice president and Nicholas Coubrough joined as vice president. Poliak, Gherardi, Guerra and Coubrough report to Ernesto de la Fe, head of Jefferies International Americas, who is also based in Miami. 

Private wealth management firm Fiduciary Trust Company appointed three senior members to its team. James Cosentino and Neal Hegge joined the firm as vice presidents and investment officers, and Kelly Guarino joined the firm as vice president and trust counsel. Consentino has more than 20 years’ experience in the industry. He was most recently senior vice president and senior portfolio manager at US Trust. Hegge joined the firm from Credit Suisse, where he was most recently director in high-yield sales. Guarino has over 20 years’ experience in legal and estate planning. She joined the company from law firm Lourie & Cutler.

Multi-family office Stonehage Fleming, which is headquartered in the UK, opened a new representative office in Canada. Called Stonehage Fleming (Canada), it is located in Toronto and is led by Mike Moodie, partner, having served as a consultant to the group and been a board member of Stonehage Fleming’s US operating company. Moodie spent a long career at Royal Bank of Canada, where as a senior executive he was responsible for growing the international wealth management businesses during subsequent postings in Canada, The Caribbean, US and UK.

US-based Fidelity Investments appointed Judy Marlinski as president of Fidelity Institutional Asset Management. She succeeded Scott Couto, who left the business. Marlinski, head of investment product solutions and innovation at Fidelity, will report to president Jeffrey Lagarce.

Dreyfus, BNY Mellon Investment Management’s US investment management company, appointed Paula Kelley as chief marketing officer, a newly-created role. Kelley leads the marketing department for Dreyfus’ North American business. Prior to Dreyfus, Kelley previously spent 12 years at Citigroup, where she most recently held the position of managing director.

Citi Private Bank appointed Mariia Eroshin as director and private at its San Francisco office. She reports to Hoyt Gier, head of western region north. She is responsible for providing wealth management services to clients based in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Eroshin joined the Private Bank from US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, where she served as a private client advisor and previously worked as a senior portfolio manager.

State Street Global Advisors appointed two new members to its SPDR exchange traded funds business; both are based in Boston. Noel Archard is the head of global SPDR product and Seth Morrison is head of global SPDR marketing.

Neuberger Berman appointed Jonathan Bailey as head of environmental, social and governance investing, based in New York. In this role, Bailey works with the firm's investment teams and research departments for further incorporate ESG initiatives into its equities, fixed income and alternatives platforms.

Investment manager Halbert Hargrove appointed Beverly Karns as its newest regional director based in Denver, Colorado. Karns works with the Denver team to design and implement investment and wealth advisory strategies. Prior to joining Halbert Hargove, Karns served as managing director of debt, equity financing of Capitol Peak Asset Management, where she was the founding partner of the firm.

Raymond James appointed Kim Jenson as chief operating officer of its private client group. Jenson replaced Tom Walrond, who, as part of a strategic succession plan within the firm, transferred to the eastern division as director to replace recently-retired Ira Federer. She has more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services sector, and was most recently managing director at UBS Financial Services Chicago. In her new role, Jenson took over Walrond’s responsibilities which include prioritizing solutions and services such as new technological advances.

Raymond James recruited senior portfolio manager and wealth advisor Michael Jeppson to its California offices. He was joined by senior client services manager Angie Duso. Jeppson joined from Merrill Lynch, where he previously managed over $400 million in client assets. He and Duso operate as Jeppson Wealth Management, which offers securities through Raymond James.

Union Bank appointed two senior members to its wealth management team in San Francisco. Tyler Brasfield joined the firm as vice president and Lawrence Parente joined the firm as director. They report to Lisa Roberts, head of private wealth management for Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Clifford Chance appointed Zarrar Sehgal as head of banking and finance for the Americas, based in New York. Alongside his new role, Seghal continues to lead the firm’s diversity committee. Seghal has been a vital member of the team which helped develop and grow the company, during his time as co-head of asset finance. Clifford Chance also appointed Evan Cohen as the firm’s regional managing partner in the Americas for a second four-year term. Cohen kept his role within the law firm, where he played a part in helping it achieve its best-ever performance in the US and Latin America over the past four years.
Bruderman Asset Management appointed Andrew LeBlanc as managing director of its private wealth services. In addition to working with his existing clientele, which includes athletes and celebrities, Le Blanc works with the firm’s ultra high-net worth clients.

Advisor network HighTower launched Synergy Capital Solutions, adding to a run of teams that have come into its embrace so far in 2017. The team is sited in Chicago; Naples, Florida, and Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Managing director Mark Burns leads the group which oversees $300 million in client assets. Synergy Capital Solutions used to be known as BIG Planning and was a member of the Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management appointed Stan Posluszny as wealth director of its Tampa, FL offices. Posluszny has ten years’ experience in the sector. He has experience working with high-net worth clients throughout Florida. Prior to joining BNY Mellon, he was regional vice president for the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.

US investment management group AllianceBernstein named former World Bank president and banking industry luminary Robert Zoellick as chairman, while Seth Bernstein, a senior figure at JP Morgan, to take up the roles of president and chief executive, respectively. They took over from Peter Kraus, who departed as CEO/chairman, along with a number of colleagues in a boardroom upheaval.

Raymond James chose industry veteran Charles White to head up its South Florida complex, which encompasses 13 branches. In total, White has more than 12 years' experience in managing branches and complexes. He began his career in 1993 with JC Bradford, an investment bank that was acquired by UBS Wealth Management in 2000, in Atlanta. In 2000, he joined Smith Barney's Atlanta office and four years later moved to its office in Omaha, Nebraska, as a non-producing branch manager. In 2007, he became a complex manager for Morgan Stanley and in 2012 was promoted to managing director. In this role, he supported 178 advisors with $18 billion in assets under management.

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Asia-Pacific
Manulife appointed Roy Gori as president. He replaced president and chief executive, Donald Guloien, who retired from the post.

Gori had served as a senior executive vice president and general manager of Manulife’s Asia division. Phil Witherington became  the firm’s interim CEO. Gori joined the firm in 2015 from Citi, where he served as head of consumer banking, North Asia and Australia, and regional head of retail banking APAC.

St James’s Place Wealth ManagementAsia appointed Sir Alan Collins as senior advisor to the SJP International Steering Committee. Collins has experience working in South East Asia, where he was a former British diplomat, which includes roles such as High Commissioner to Singapore, Ambassador to the Philippines, and director general of British Trade and Cultural office in Taiwan.

Hermes Investment Management, which oversees £30.8 billion ($39.5 billion) in client assets, appointed Tai Watanabe as business development assistant manager for the Asia-Pacific region. He is based in Singapore, reporting to Jakob Nilsson, head of Asia-Pacific and business development.

Kevin Wong joined HSBC Private Bank as its head of equities for Southeast Asia. Wong previously worked at Bank of Singapore and has more than 10 years of wealth management experience. Prior to BOS, he held various specialist advisory roles for both equities and derivatives at UBS and Citigroup.

Jill Carpenter was appointed as trust director for Rawlinson & Hunter in Singapore, having been head of private clients for large multi-national professional services firm in the Asia city-state. Prior to joining Rawlinson & Hunter, she gained experience in jurisdictions including Canada and Bermuda and almost seven years in Singapore. She holds a Management degree from the University of Lethbridge (Canada) as well as TEP (Trust and Estate Practitioner) and MTI (Member Trust Institute) designations.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group appointed Anna Green as the chief executive of the Philippines, reporting to David Green, chief executive for Singapore and head of Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East. Ms Green replaced Peter Chan as ANZ CEO for the Philippines. Chan became ANZ's CEO for Taiwan. Ms Green, who joined ANZ in 2004, is currently CEO for ANZ’s Laos operations and prior to that role, she held senior risk and regulatory roles with ANZ across the region. She has also practiced international banking and finance law in Sydney and London.

Indosuez Wealth Management recruited Edward Lo as a senior director in Hong Kong having previously worked at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong as a director. Lo has 15 years of experience in private and commercial banking.

Deutsche Bank Wealth Management nnounced a range of new hires to support growth in the Asia region, including four members of a new group in Hong Kong who will cover clients in Greater China. The team, led by Gloria Sun and reporting to Kanas Chan, head of wealth management coverage, North Asia, are responsible for acquiring new clients and raising assets in Greater China.  The four executives in the team joined Deutsche Bank WM from The Bank of East Asia Limited Hong Kong: Gloria Sun – managing director, group head; Winson Hung, director, investment advisor; Gary Lu – vice president, relationship manager, Nora Lai, assistant vice president, relationship manager. There are also nine new hires in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai who are responsible for client coverage, project management, IT and Know-Your-Client activities.

A former senior private banker at Credit Suisse, Jacqueline Too, joined Bank of Singapore as a senior relationship manager. At Credit Suisse, Too was an executive director for almost two years; prior to that, from September 2003 to July 2015, she was a senior director at Standard Chartered Private Bank.

Lombard Odier said its Asia head, Vincent Duhamel, was stepping down as chief executive in the region, taking up the post of Asia chairman. He had been the bank's Asia head for six years. Vincent Magnenat, CEO of the Singapore office and Asia head of private banking since early 2014, was appointed CEO for Asia, while holding his Singapore chief executive role. Magnenat continued to oversee Asia private banking from Singapore. Europe-based managing partners, Hubert Keller and Hugo Bänziger, remained members of the group’s Asia Board. Prior to joining Lombard Odier, Magnenat spent close to nine years at Société Générale, where he led regional sales and marketing activities for the private bank in Asia. He began his global private banking career at Credit Suisse in Switzerland and relocated to Singapore in 2002.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group appointed Yoshio Hishida to lead global business development of SuMi TRUST’s asset management business. A long-serving employee, Hishida joined the business in 1986 as a portfolio manager in its global equities team. He was an investment officer from 1999 to 2004 and has expertise in strategy and management, having served also as an executive officer of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Limited and as general manager of Fiduciary Service Business Planning Department at The Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co.

SimCorp appointed Oliver Johnson as managing director, Asia-Pacific. Johnson joined the firm in May, and is based in Singapore. He reports to Jochen  Müller, SimCorp’s executive vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa and APAC.

In total, he has more than 12 years' experience in financial services and software, six of which involved leading customer relationships and projects at senior management level in Asia.
Swiss private banking luminary Erich Pfister, who was named head of Falcon Group's private banking arm last year, left the scandal-hit firm. The firm provided no further details about his departure. A few days before the news of his departure broke, Falcon Private Bank, which was last year kicked out of Singapore amid an alleged money laundering scandal, announced two of its directors were set to leave the firm. Murtadha M Al Hashmi and H E Khaled Balama AlTameemi “decided to leave our board of directors”, it said.

LGT, which recently bought the Asia private banking business of ABN AMRO, made senior management changes to its private banking team. Hanspeter Oes took on a newly-created role of regional chief operating officer for Asia. Karl-Heinz Klaus took on the role of head of private banking for Hong Kong, with Silvan Colani becoming head of Singapore private banking; Colani retained his existing role of chief executive of LGT Bank (Hong Kong). Dominique Joye retained his role as CEO of LGT (Singapore).

First State Investments appointed two executives in North Asia. Gladys Chan joined as director of private bank distribution for North Asia, while Bonnie Chun was named associate director of intermediary business. Chan reports to Vivian Tang, head of distribution for North Asia. Chun reports to Alex Tam, director of intermediary business.

The head of investment solutions and products for the Asia-Pacific region at Credit Suisse Private Banking left the firm. The departing manager is Rajesh Manwani, who had been at the bank for nine years.
Former National Australia Bank and JP Morgan executive, Nicholas Lipscome, was appointed to head up the New South Wales team of the Myer Family Company.

Swiss China Corporation, which has a Hong Kong-based multi-family office and a wealth and asset managment company in mainland China, hired a pair of relationship managers, with other recruits in the process of joining. Nini Wang, who was previously at Julius Baer and JP Morgan and Ingrid Huang, formerly of CTBC Private Banking (HK), joined SCC as executive directors.

Albert Liu, managing director and country team head (China) at UBS in Singapore, stepped down from the firm. Liu, a prominent figure in the Asia-Pacific wealth management space, had reported to Ruth Chung, regional market manager for wealth management China.

Indosuez Wealth Management in Hong Kong recruited Ezena Mok as senior director, effective 5 May 2017. The role is a newly-created one. She reports directly to Piera Au-Yeung, team head and deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong branch. She brings more than 20 years of experience as private banker. Before joining Indosuez Wealth Management, she was working at ANZ Private Bank Hong Kong (that business has been sold by its Australia parent to DBS, the Singapore-headquartered lender).

Malaysia-headquartered CIMB Group recruited seven people recently at its private bank in Singapore. Five of the hires already started and the remaining two will join by September. Some of the new arrivals are relationship managers who worked at ANZ, which last year sold its wealth and retail banking units in Singapore and four other markets to DBS. 

Indosuez Wealth Management in Hong Kong recruited Ezena Mok as senior director. The role is a newly-created one. Ezena Mok reports directly to Piera Au-Yeung, team head and deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong branch. She brings more than 20 years of experience as private banker. Before joining Indosuez Wealth Management, she was working at ANZ Private Bank Hong Kong.

Aviva Investors appointed Louise Kay to its executive team. The nine-strong team, led by Euan Munro, chief executive officer, is responsible for establishing and delivering the firm's global strategy. Kay joined Aviva Investors in June 2015. She continues to carry out her role as global head of client solutions, meaning she is responsible for external distribution globally. 

Singapore-headquartered asset manager EFA Group appointed two senior figures in Asia and Switzerland. Alain Vignon was appointed as executive board member of EFA Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Geneva, where he develops EFA’s brand and private debt products. He focuses on the European, Russian, Central Asia, African and American markets. Prior to EFA, Vignon was global head of merchant banking and executive committee member at one of the largest metal trading companies in the world, managing teams in the US, Europe and Asia.

UBS re-hired Greg Simmons as an investment advisor within the global South Asia office. Simmons will report to executive director Anuj Chhabra. He was most recently head of client solutions UK at Coutts. Prior to Coutts, he was head of structured products & research based advice, UK & Jersey at UBS.

India-based Sanctum Wealth Management appointed Satwick Tandon to its management team. He holds the role of executive director responsible for developing its international strategy. Tandon reports to Sanctum’s chief executive, Shiv Gupta. Tandon has 18 years of experience, having worked across the financial services sector in the wealth management and insurance domains and in digital consumer services.

Franklin Templeton Investments, the US-headquartered business, appointed Simon Coxeter, formerly of consultants Mercer, as managing director and head of investment solutions for Asia, a new role created by the firm. Coxeter is responsible for developing and managing multi asset, multi strategy investment solutions for institutional and retail clients in Asia, excluding Japan and Australia. He is based in Singapore.

International law firm Withers hired senior tax advisor and Shingo Iizuka for its Tokyo office. He previously worked at Deloitte's Tokyo team, where he was director of the private company and the global employer practices, and prior to that was deputy director in the Tokyo bureau of Japan's National Tax Agency. Iizuka is experienced in fields of tax, advising institutional clients and family businesses on their personal and corporate tax affairs, regulatory compliance, tax aspects of restructuring and tax investigations. He worked for the National Tax Agency for more than 25 years.

Ping An Insurance, company of China, appointed Jonathan Larsen as chief innovation officer and chief executive of Ping An Global Voyager Fund. The new $1 billion fund invests in fintech and healthtech opportunities globally ex-China. Larson has nearly 30 years’ experience in the industry and spent 18 years at Citigroup, where he was most recent global head of retail banking.

Swiss fintech company Lykke appointed Seamus Donoghue as director of its Singapore office, as the blockchain company continues to grow with offices now in the UK, Switzerland, Cyprus, Vanatu, the US and Singapore. Donoghue was most recently chief executive of Allocated Bullion Solutions. He has also held various positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. 

Manulife Asset Management Services Berhad appointed Jason Chong as chief executive, based in Malaysia. Chong replaced Wong Boon Choy, who stayed on as advisor and retired from the full-time CEO position. He oversees the growth and development of MAMSB’s integrated wealth and asset management business. He reports to Gianni Fiacco, Asia wealth and asset management chief operating officer and locally to Mark O’Dell, group CEO and executive director.

Switzerland
Geneva-headquartered investment house QUAERO Capital appointed Michaël Malquarti as a senior portfolio manager. Malquarti manages the firm's long/short European equity fund. Previously, Malquarti was head of manager research and alternative investments at SYZ Asset Management.

The chief executive of Schroders' Swiss business joined the foundation board of the Swiss Finance Institute, a public-private group drawing together academic and related research. The SFI appointed Adrian Nösberger, CEO of Schroder & Co Bank (Switzerland); he replaced Marco Bizzozero as representative of the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland. In addition, the SFI Foundation Board appointed Dr Markus Bürgi as a new member of the management Board. He is the head of communication and projects. He was a director at the SFI for over a year prior to this appointment, and has also been a member of parliament in Switzerland, for Stadt Adliwil.

Geneva-based private investment office B Capital named a family office director, recruiting from Barclays. B Capital appointed Zuzana Eleuterio. She worked for about a decade at Barclays in Switzerland.
LJ Partnership, the private wealth partnership, named two individuals in senior positions in its trust and administration business in Switzerland. Ross Belhomme and Anne-Catherine Gamper joined the Swiss arm of LJ Partnership’s trust and administration business with titles of managing director and associate director, respectively. They came from law firm Saffery Champness’ Swiss business where they worked together for the last five years. Belhomme also held senior roles at Barclays’ wealth management business, JP Morgan and HSBC Private Banking. Gamper has a particular focus on the charitable and philanthropy sector. Both are members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

PineBridge Investments appointed Alain Meyer as head of Switzerland and Austria. The firm also launched the PineBridge European Secured Credit Fund. Meyer oversees PineBridge’s expansion into the Swiss institutional and intermediaries market, as well as the opening of a new Zurich office. He joined from Aviva Investors, where he was head of institutional sales, overseeing operations across Germany, Austria and Switz, where he was head of institutional sales, overseeing operations across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Europe and international
Julius Baer appointed Luca Venturini as its new head for the Italian market, joining from Edmond de Rothschild (Suisse) where he held several roles during a six-year stint at that firm. Venturini is based in Lugano and report to Stephen Kamp, head for Southern Europe and Israel. Between 2011 and 2014 Venturini was chief executive of Edmond de Rothschild (Lugano), and until 2016, he acted as vice-chairman and deputy CEO of the executive committee of Edmond de Rothschild (Suisse). As of 2017, he was appointed deputy CEO of the bank’s international private banking business and head of the client solutions department.

Julius Baer added to its presence in the German market, naming a new deputy head of portfolio management and three new advisors in Frankfurt and Hamburg. Ralf Mielke was named as the bank’s new deputy head of portfolio management. He is based in Frankfurt; he is part of a team led by head of portfolio management Lutz Welge. Prior to his new role, he was chief investment officer and head of portfolio management at Bank J Safra Sarasin.

The bank also appointed Alexander Schmidt as an advisor. Schmidt previously was head of private banking at Bankhaus Hallbaum.

Andreas Wagner was hired as an advisor. Earlier in his career, he spent stints with J Safra Sarasin and Credit Suisse. Thorsten Kubeil joined the bank as a relationship manager in Frankfurt and he joined the firm from Hauck & Aufhauser. 

In Italy, Julius Baer appointed Luca Venturini as its new head for the Italian market, joining from Edmond de Rothschild (Suisse) where he held several roles during a six-year stint at that firm. He is based in Lugano and reports to Stephen Kamp, head for Southern Europe and Israel.

Banque Bonhôte bolstered its fund solutions team with the hire of Gérard Sanz as vice president, as it looks to expand its footprint in the Swiss-German market. 

JP Morgan appointed Annabelle Azoulay as head of the private bank’s France market. Azoulay, who is based in Paris, oversees the firm’s wealth management operations and drives its overall strategy and growth for the market. She succeeded Jean-Baptiste Douin, and reports to Pablo Garnica, chief executive of JP Morgan Private Bank’s Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region.

Dubai-based Emirates NBD Asset Management appointed Salman Bajwa as senior executive. Bajwa replaced and reports to Tariq Bin Hendi, who was promoted to executive vice president and head of products & advisory at Emirates NBD group. He joined the company in June 2008, and went onto take over its sales and distribution team.