November may not have been as dramatic as earlier in the autumn, when the leadership of UBS changed, but there have still been notable moves at that firm and others in what was an eventful month.

Europe

Rex Cowley, director of products and marketing at Close International prior to its acquisition by Kleinwort Benson in June this year, left the business. He had served the firm for more than nine years and was responsible for Close International’s product and proposition development and marketing across pensions, asset management, trusts, banking, custody and fund administration.

Russia's Troika Dialog appointed Alexander Krapivko as a director and asset allocation advisor of its private clients department. Krapivko reports to Igor Sagiryan, managing director and head of Troika Dialog’s private clients division.

Four executives who resigned from HSBC's Israeli desk in New York are set to move to similar positions at UBS' New York-based Israel team. The team that resigned collectively was headed by Issac Doueck, head of Israel at UBS. The four will not be subordinate to Kobi Faigenbaum, chief executive of UBS Wealth Management Israel. The Swiss bank recently expanded its operations in Israel.

Josef Ackermann, chairman of the management board and the group executive committee of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank, will not be a candidate for the supervisory board after he steps down from the management board in 2012. Ackermann has been chairman of the management board since 2002.

Crédit Agricole promoted Olivier Toussaint to chief executive of Banque de Gestion Privée Indosuez, a private banking subsidiary of the French bank. Toussaint replaced Hervé Catala, who has held the position since 2007 and has been made chairman of the management board of Crédit Agricole’s Swiss operations.

VP Bank, the Liechtenstein-based private banking firm, reorganised its management structure. “Banking Liechtenstein & Regional Market”, which remains VP Bank’s most important market segment, is represented in the group executive management team, led by Georg Wohlwend. Also, Rolf Jermann, the head of commercial banking, becomes a member of executive management at the Vaduz head office from 1 January.

UK

Kames Capital, the UK-based asset management arm of AEGON, bolstered its fixed income team with the addition of Greg Mackay to its government bonds team. Mackay was latterly head of fixed income and derivatives at Nationwide Building Society.

Vanguard, the US-based funds firm, made two appointments to its London office. Joy Yang was named as head of the equities team, having previously worked at Scudder, BGI, AXA Rosenburg and Scottish Widows. Nick Pierce joined as head of fixed income operations, having previously worked at BGI and Gartmore.

UK-based Gemini Investment Management hired Liz Adnitt - latterly of LV Asset Management - as a London-based investment sales director. Adnitt has also worked in sales at Jupiter Asset Management.

FF&P Wealth Planning, part of UK-based multi-family office FF&P, appointed Adrian Crowe as a financial planner, recruiting him from SG Hambros Private Bank. While at SG Hambros Private Bank, Crowe had been a senior financial planner and wealth structurer.

Jersey-based funds and fiduciary services provider Hawksford Group appointed Colin Borman as director responsible for a portfolio of existing clients and oversee the development of the firm’s funds business. Borman was director at Sanne Real Estate for the past years.

Coutts appointed Jennifer Mathias as its new chief financial officer, joining from UK rival Lloyds Banking Group, where she held the post of finance director in the corporate banking division. She also will be a member of Coutts' executive committee.

Arjent, the UK-based investment manager, hired Simon Whittley as a senior investment manager. Whittley has previously worked at Credit Suisse, Close Brothers, Arbuthnot Latham Investment and J Rothschild.

Coutts, the UK-headquartered private bank, appointed Dmitri Rozanov as the new head of its Russia/CIS desk in London. Rozanov previously led Brig Capital, an independent principal investment and financial advisory firm focused on Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. Before founding Brig Capital, he was head of Central and Eastern European mergers and acquisitions at Merrill Lynch in London.

Iveagh Private Investment House, the London-based Guinness family office and asset manager, appointed Richard Ford as chief executive. Ford replaced Paul Ross, who will assist his successor in the first few months of his tenure, in addition to continuing to serve on Iveagh’s board as deputy chairman.

Smith & Williamson Investment Management hired Julian Polnik as head of the broker desk within its funds business. He joined after spending the past two years in a similar role at UK-listed Close Brothers.

Duncan Lawrie, the UK-based private bank, named Kirk McCarthy as head of international business development. McCarthy will be based on the Isle of Man. Previously he worked at Barclays, heading its corporate banking business development team.

RBC Wealth Management appointed three directors to its advisory and portfolio strategy teams in an expansion of its British Isles Investments platform. Guy Huntrods was appointed as director and advisory desk head. Based in London, Huntrods will lead both the onshore and offshore advisory businesses. Daniel Vaysleyb was appointed as director and head of offshore advisory, based in Jersey and reporting to Huntrods. He from UBS in London, where he was a portfolio specialist focusing on Eastern Europe, Israel, Greece and South Asian markets. Frédérique Carrier joined as director and European equities specialist within the portfolio strategy team. Carrier joined RBC Wealth Management from Williams de Broe / Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Investment Management where she was an investment director.

UK-listed asset management group F&C Investments appointed a product and performance manager to assist the team in creating new business opportunities. Torquil Wheatley is responsible for internal and client communication for the firm’s multi-alternative products.

Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie added senior private banker John Bulbeck to its London office, recruiting him from UBS Wealth Management.

Sesame Bankhall Group promoted its chief operating officer, George Higginson, to chief executive. The firm did not have a CEO before the promotion and it is not looking to hire a new COO as Higginson will keep his current responsibilities in addition to his new role.

UK-based wrap platform Novia appointed Chris Blakeley from Australian-based Macquarie Bank and Financial Services UK as its new head of risk and compliance.

Ignis Asset Management reshuffled the management of its retail multi-manager fund and the current head, Simon Mungall, is now in charge of tactical asset allocation, while Michiel Timmerman, head of the Ignis Advisors fund of funds business, will run the multi-manager funds from now on.

Rothschild Bank named Laurent Gagnebin as head of Rothschild Wealth Management, Equitas, its Geneva-based subsidiary – an appointment the bank said is intended to strengthen its ultra high net worth business. Gagnebin joined from Investec Bank in Geneva, where he was head of the branch and played a key role in the development of the UHNW client business.

BlackRock bolstered its UK real estate team with the hire of Paul Tebbit, who as director will help the team finding new opportunities for the company’s UK property fund. He joined from Telereal Trillium.

London-based Troy Asset Management appointed Gabrielle Boyle as manager of its Trojan Capital Fund. Boyle was latterly lead manager on NewSmith Capital Partners’ Global Alpha Fund.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management appointed Paul O’Sullivan as a financial advisor focusing on UK and Irish high net worth clients. O’Sullivan joined from Credit Suisse, where he was a senior private banker, focusing on UK and Irish ultra high net worth individuals. Before this he worked for UBS as a financial advisor for UK entrepreneurs.

Jupiter Unit Trust Managers appointed a manager for its Global Managed Fund. Simon Somerville took over from John Chatfeild-Roberts from, after working as deputy manager for the fund for just over a year.

South African firm Momentum Global Investment Management hired a business development executive for its UK retail distribution arm. Philip Childs will be responsible for business development within the firm's intermediary and wealth management business lines. Previously, he worked at Jersey-based investment manager Ashburton in a similar role.

Threadneedle, the UK-based asset manager, added fund manager Neil Robson to its global equities team, appointing him as lead manager of the Luxembourg-domiciled Threadneedle Global Focus Fund. Robson joined from Martin Currie Investment Management, where he had been global portfolio manager.

Iveagh Private Investment House, the Guinness family office, hired a new head of marketing. In the newly-created role, Caren Oxford will be responsible for marketing and communications strategy for the asset management business. Previously, Oxford worked at UK-based financial planner Skandia Investment, a member of the Old Mutual Group.

Foresight Group, an alternative asset manager, bolstered its fund management teams with the hire of a new director and an investment manager and part of the environmental team. David Conlon – latterly transaction director at Aleltho Energy, an investment management firm – joined as director. Arnoud Klaren joined the team as investment manager from US-based SolFocus, a solar technology provider.

Brooks Macdonald Asset Management appointed Toby Thompson as investment management director in London. Thompson, whose career has focused on the management of UK equity portfolios for institutional pension funds and retail OEICs, was previously with New Star Asset Management for eight years.

Nigel Legge, a co-founder and former chief executive of UK-listed of Liontrust Asset Management, which he left last year, re-entered the fray with Vinculum, a newly-minted fund management business. The firm was also founded by Bjarne Jensen, current CEO of StockRate Asset Management; Niels Jensen, managing partner of Absolute Return Partners and Douglas Thursby-Pelham, a marketing and communications specialist.

KPMG, the UK accountancy and consulting firm, named Chris Morgan as head of tax policy in the UK, replacing Anneli Collins, who is now global head of merger and acquisition tax in the UK. Morgan worked for KPMG in the UK for 17 years, and has been a partner for 13 years in international corporate tax.

Gibson Tullberg, the wealth and asset management executive search business, appointed Michele Turner to run its asset management practice in London. Turner joined from Hanson Green, where she spent 12 years as head of financial services.

Invesco Perpetual named Simon Laing - latterly of Newton Investment Management - as head of US equity fund management.   Laing took over management of the Invesco Perpetual US Equity Fund, as well as playing a role in the company’s global equity team.

Tenet said it will announce a new chief executive before the end of the year. Interim chief executive Martin Greenwood did not apply for the role; his predecessor Simon Hudson resigned in August and created Oakleaf Financial, a new independent financial advisory firm.

Barclays Wealth added analyst Matthew Latham to its Liverpool team, a hire which is part of a graduate scheme which has seen the firm take on 40 trainees in the UK this year. Latham supports a private banking team serving clients across Merseyside and the northwest of England.

UK-based private bank Arbuthnot Latham saw the departure of chief executive Dean Proctor. He leaves in the first quarter of 2012, taking up the position of executive general manager at Commercialbank of Qatar.

The Financial Services Authority, the UK regulator, appointed Sir Nicholas Montagu as chairman of the Financial Ombudsman Service. Sir Nicholas is currently the chairman of the Aviva UK Life with-profits committee and a director of the Pension Corporation.

Barclays Wealth added to its Oxford team with the appointment of private banker Steven Walker. Walker joins from the Oxford office of Coutts, where he managed a portfolio of private clients, trusts and charities across Oxfordshire, the Chilterns and Thames Valley.

Lloyds Banking Group suffered a fresh senior management blow: Nathan Bostock, who had been due to join from Royal Bank of Scotland as head of wholesale banking,  decided to stay put. Bostock, head of restructuring and risk at Royal Bank of Scotland, did not take up the job as had been announced on 19 July. As a result, Truett Tate continues as group executive director, wholesale. Lloyds had already suffered a setback in early November when it announced that its recently installed group chief executive, António Horta-Osório, took a short leave of absence on medical grounds.

Wealth management executive search firm Culliford Edmunds Associates appointed James Carmalt as a board director, effective from 1 December. Carmalt jointed the firm in April 2009.

The asset management arm of US-listed Legg Mason strengthened its team in London by hiring Dan Franklin as director of business development. Franklin, who reports to Adam Gent, head of UK sales, works with the UK team servicing discretionary clients. Previously, Franklin was senior investment sales manager at UK insurance and investment house Legal and General.

UK law firm Wedlake Bell launched a family team headed by Charmaine Hast, who has joined the firm as a partner. Family lawyer Hast joined from TWM Solicitors, a law firm where she established and headed a family department.

Katie Booth left Butterfield Bank to set up her own eponymous firm where she advises business owners on how to set up family offices, as well as giving succession planning and fiduciary asset structuring advice. Besides her own wealth consultancy firm, Booth also joined new merchant bank Templewood as a partner.

Mitchell Charlesworth, an accountancy and advisory firm based in Widnes in the northwest of England, bolstered its wealth management arm with two new hires. Neil Martin joins as head of financial planning, while Sarah Godfree is the new office manager.

Mike Woodward, head of investment trusts at F&C Asset Management since 2008, left as part of a cost-cutting drive by the UK-listed firm.

Santander Private Banking appointed Gordon Dow as the new managing director of its UK arm, recruiting him from Royal Bank of Scotland, where he had been director of private banking and advice.

Coutts appointed Ian Ewart as head of products, services and marketing, adding to his existing marketing role at the blue-blooded firm. Ewart replaced Byron Coombs, the previous head of products and services, following his decision to retire from full-time management.

Kleinwort Benson appointed former Schroders Private Bank head of business development, Stephen Rothwell, as head of wealth management. Prior to joining Schroders, Rothwell was responsible for UK private client business development at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers.

Switzerland

Private client law firm Maitland added a team of three lawyers to its newly-established Geneva office. Francis Rojas, Anna Steward and Michael Wells-Greco all have a background at law firm Withers in Geneva.

St Galler Kantonalbank is to propose that Franz Peter Oesch remains chairman of its board of directors for another year at its annual general meeting on 25 April 2012. Vice-chairman of the board Hans-Peter Härtsch will not stand for re-election, after eleven years in the role, while Thomas Gutzwiller and Kurt Rüegg will stand for re-election for a further term of three years at the 2012 AGM.

Charles de Boissezon, the former chief executive at Banque Piguet, the Swiss private bank, took up the post of CEO at Hinduja Bank (Suisse), part of Hinduja, the giant India-based conglomerate with substantial banking and finance interests. Boissezon was appointed CEO of Banque Piguet in 2004 and retired from the firm in 2008.

UBS appointed Anthony Zammar as head of one of its two desks covering Saudi Arabian clients. He joined from JP Morgan, where he was a managing director and senior client advisor covering the Middle East, having previously been head of sales management for the region.

Middle East

ABN AMRO Private Banking bolstered its Middle East business with the appointment of two senior private bankers in the Dubai International Financial Centre. Fares Bdeir and Husseyn Smili previously worked for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in Dubai for five years, serving high net worth clients. The pair report to Yazeed Adas, market manager for the Middle East team.

Coutts, the UK-headquartered private banking group, appointed Amir Sadr as head of the United Arab Emirates market and private office in the Middle East. Sadr develops the bank’s ultra high net worth service in the Middle East and reports to Alex Classen, chief executive of Coutts International and Duncan MacIntyre, head of the bank’s private office. He is based in Dubai.

Morgan Stanley named Kamal Jabre - a twenty-year veteran of the Wall Street banking giant - as chairman and chief executive for the Middle East and North Africa region. Jabre is one of the bank’s most senior M&A bankers and advised on various large transactions for its most important clients across North America, Europe and MENA.

Franklin Templeton Investments appointed Jo-Anne Bailey as director for Africa, based in Cape Town, South Africa. Bailey is responsible for developing the firm's retail and institutional businesses across the African continent. Bailey reports to Andrew Ashton, regional head for central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, who is based in Dubai.

International

Kames Capital, the London-based investment manager which rebranded from AEGON Asset Management, opened an office in Hong Kong and appointed James Cooper as head of business development for Asia.  Cooper joined from Liminal Image, which provides consulting services to the financial services industry.

Yusuf Alireza, who was promoted to co-president of Goldman Sachs’s operations in the Asia-Pacific region outside Japan in January, is leaving the US firm after 19 years with the company. David Ryan remains as president of the business.

Piyush Gupta, chief executive and director of Singapore's DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank, was named a member of the board of directors of the Institute of International Finance. The first time an executive from a Singapore-headquartered bank has been appointed to the IIF board, the Washington-based association of financial institutions worldwide.

Wall Street giant JP Morgan Chase & Co added James Bell to its board of directors and audit committee. Bell is chief financial officer and executive vice president of Chicago-based aerospace firm The Boeing Company.

Citi promoted its Asia-Pacific co-head Stephen Bird to the position of sole chief executive of Asia, while his former co-head, Shirish Apte, became chairman of the region. Since 2009 Bird and Apte shared the role, with Bird focusing on China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, and Apte concentrating on South and Southeast Asia. Bird runs Asia, but also continues to spend time with key clients in North Asia.

Citi Private Bank announced a number of changes to its team for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The moves will be completed by the start of January next year. The changes are part of a change in the structure of the teams covering EMEA and Central and Eastern Europe.

Investment house Ocean Dial Group appointed Gaurav Narain as the head of research at its Mumbai subsidiary, Ocean Dial Advisers Private. He joined from New Horizon Investments. Prior to his career at New Horizon Investments he managed a long-only fund for foreign institutional investors in Indian equities, Narain was a fund manager with ING Investment Management India.

Scipion Capital, the African-focused investment firm, made two appointments for its London and Geneva offices to support new investment and products it expects to launch in the next six months. Jonathan Hargreaves joined as London analyst, while Jean Cochard was named office manager in Geneva.

Altamount Capital Management, the India-based multi-family office, named Murlidhara Kadaba as non-executive chairman. He was, until recently, senior managing director guiding its strategy and business development. The MFO, meanwhile, opened its third office in as many years of operation in Bengaluru, adding to its presence in Mumbai and Delhi.

UK-based Premier Cru Fine Wine Investments appointed Sir Eric Peacock as a non-executive chairman - a move which the firm regarded as a "key milestone" in its history.  

Sir Eric works alongside company co-founders Paula Golding, managing director, and Stacey-Lea Golding, investments director.

Offshore law firm Conyers Dill & Pearman appointed a new head for its London office to develop new business lines as part of its London and European expansion.   Collis took over from Christopher Johnson-Gilbert, who takes on the role of counsel. Lawyer Veronica Strande is also a recent addition to the London team.

Asia-Pacific

Aberdeen Asset Management hired Dr David Smith as a forensic corporate governance expert to its Singapore-based Asian investment team as head of corporate governance. He joins from Institutional Shareholder Services, where he spent four years, most recently as head of Asia-ex Japan research.

Solution Providers, the Swiss management consulting firm for financial institutions, hired Sarah Luheshi as principal consultant in its Singapore office effective 28 November 2011. Before, Luheshi established the Singapore presence of Owen James, the UK-headquartered wealth management consulting and events firm.

Piyush Gupta, chief executive and director of Singapore's DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank, was named a member of the board of directors of the Institute of International Finance. This is the first time an executive from a Singapore-headquartered bank is appointed to the IIF board, the Washington-based association of financial institutions worldwide, said the firm.

Credit Suisse named Olivier Thiriet as chief executive for Japan effective 1 January 2012. Thiriet is the head of cash equities for Asia-Pacific and will assume the new responsibility as Japan chief in addition to this role.

Investment house Ocean Dial Group named Gaurav Narain as the head of research at its Mumbai subsidiary, Ocean Dial Advisers Private. He joined from New Horizon Investments.

Altamount Capital Management, the India-based multi-family office, named Murlidhara Kadaba as non-executive chairman. He was until recently senior managing director guiding its strategy and business development.

Manulife Asset Management named Kisoo Park managing director and portfolio manager for the global multi-sector fixed income team in Hong Kong. Park has over 20 years of foreign exchange and global fixed income experience, previously serving as founder and chief operating officer of an Asia-focused event driven hedge fund.

Man Group, the London-listed investment manager, appointed a country chair of China following its acquisition of rival GLG Partners year, as part of an aggressive push into Mainland China. Yifei Li previously worked at GLG which was acquired by Man in October 2010.

Noah Holdings, the wealth management firm that caters to high net worth clients in China, appointed Shusong Ba and Ji Liu as independent directors to its board. Shusong Ba is the deputy director of the Research Institute of Finance under the Development Research Center of China's State Council.

Macquarie Private Wealth, the Australian manager, announced the hiring of 19 advisers across six states including four from Perth-based adviser Plan B. The wealth manager made the hires over the last six months. These include Michael Harwood, Michael Moursellas, Ryan Wareing and Andrew White in Perth. In Queensland, Scott MacKenzie, Emmet Ryan, Matthew Cahill, Joshua Derrington, Ben Kirkegaard and Lawrence Williamson joined the company in Brisbane. Macquarie also hired five private client advisers in Canberra. Paschal Leahy and Luke Furner specialize in defined-benefit superannuation, Bob Backer focuses on advising clients in the defence and public sectors about retirement planning and super, and Hena Power and Penny Ponder specialise in portfolio management and SMSFs. In South Australia, Macquarie Private Wealth hired David Duncan to provide advice for business owners and self-funded retirees, and risk specialist James Inglis. On the direct equity side, it hired Paris Magdalinos from Lonsec in Melbourne and Patrick Hunt from Lonsec in Sydney.

The Antipodean wealth manager also recruited Mark Chartres from Intersuisse as senior investment advisor for its Melbourne wealth management office. Also Emil Walter was recruited as a successor to Mark Matthews for the role of Asia strategist. Walter was the head of regional strategy for Asian equities at Royal Bank of Scotland. Matthews left the company for Julius Baer early this year.

The chief executive of Australian investment manager Challenger, Dominic Stevens, resigned after nine years at the firm to take “a career sabbatical”. Stevens will be replaced by current chief financial officer and group chief operating officer Brian Benari, who will succeed Stevens in February next year.

ANZ Wealth appointed Neil Younger as head of practice-based financial planning. Younger was previously the general manager for Commonwealth Financial Planning, the graduate program under Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

BT Financial Group, the wealth management arm of Australia's The Westpac Group, launched a new business unit that highlights the firm's Magnitude financial advisory business. The new divison is led by Phil Butterworth, who is credited for establishing and leading the DKN Financial Group, a wealth services provider that was recently taken over by IOOF Holdings.

MLC, the wealth management affiliate of National Australia Bank, appointed Megan Beer as general manager of group insurance. Beer brings almost 20 years of financial services and over 12 years of insurance experience to the role. She was previously the head of finance for MLC Insurance, where she worked for the past two years.

State Street Corporation appointed two executives to its Australian Global Markets team. Sinclair Scholfield will lead the firm's securities finance business in Australia and New Zealand as managing director, while Jonathan Gencher was named head of e-Exchange, the firm's electronic foreign exchange trading service. 

Bank of Melbourne Private, the newly-established Australian wealth manager, appointed Jonathan Ayres to head its private division. Ayres joined from National Australia Bank where he spent more than a decade in senior roles, including as head of financial planning for NAB Private and as a regional executive. He most recently served as senior investment specialist with NABInvest.

UK-based accountant Ernst & Young made a number of senior appointments for its asset management arm in Asia-Pacific. Roy Stockell was appointed head of asset management for Asia-Pacific, in addition to his current role leading the asset management group for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. Ernst & Young also appointed Elliott Shadforth, George Saffayeh, Teresa Tso and Christine Lin all in senior asset management positions in Asia-Pacific.

Bravura Solutions, the wealth management software developer, named Jason Wilby as manager for global strategy, risk and planning. Wilby was previously the head of change, global wealth management at Bravura. He joined the firm in 2008 as head of human resources, global wealth management.

Citi promoted its Asia-Pacific co-head Stephen Bird to the position of sole chief executive of Asia, while his former co-head, Shirish Apte, became chairman of the region. Since 2009 Bird and Apte shared the role, with Bird focusing on China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, and Apte concentrating on South and Southeast Asia. Both appointments are effective from 1 January 2012.

Man Group, the London-listed investment manager, appointed a country chair of China, Yifei Li. She previously worked at GLG which was acquired by Man in October 2010, and is a well-respected Chinese business woman.

Banca della Svizzera Italiana appointed George Lam as a new investment advisor on the China-Taiwan team of its Singapore wealth management business. He joined the Lugano-headquartered bank from HSBC Private Bank where he was a director in the investment group.

Goldman Sachs' former Asia co-president Yusuf Alireza, whose departure was announced early November 2011, resurfaced at troubled commodities trader Noble Group as chief executive. Alireza left Goldman after 19 years at the firm and replaced Ricardo Leiman, who resigned. David Ryan remains as sole president as Goldman Sachs in Asia Pacific ex-Japan. 

Credit Suisse hired David Murray, formerly chief executive of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, as senior advisor based in Australia. Working from Sydney, Murray will work with private clients as well as the corporate and institutional divisions of the bank in Australia and Asia-Pacific.

Charles de Boissezon, the former chief executive at Banque Piguet, the Swiss private bank, took the post of CEO at Hinduja Bank (Suisse), part of Hinduja, the giant India-based conglomerate with substantial banking and finance interests. Boissezon was appointed CEO of Banque Piguet in 2004 and retired from the firm in 2008.

Australia and New Zealand Bank, the fourth largest bank in Australia, appointed Nigel Williams as chief risk officer and member of the management board. Williams served as the managing director, institutional Australia since 2008 and previously worked as managing director, director for institutional and corporate and commercial banking in New Zealand. He joined the firm in 2004. His appointment takes effect 16 December 2011. 

MLC, the wealth unit of National Australia Bank, reshuffled its advice and marketing senior management ranks with moves effective 1 February 2012. Greg Miller, previously the general manager of MLC Advice Solutions and MLC Direct, will move to a full-time position as general manager of MLC Direct. His old role will be assumed by Tom Reddacliff, who used to be the general manager of Godfrey Pembroke. Reddacliff will in turn replaced by Peter Smith, who used to serve as general manager for distribution for MLC's UK operations. 

IOOF Holdings, the Australian investment management firm, made several changes to its sales and distribution team. Leah Waldie, previously the northern regional manager is now covering the newly-created role of national key account manager. Concurrent with the appointment was the creation of state manager roles in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, to be managed by former business development managers Georgia Nides, Julie Wise, Matt Kent and Nathan Morgan, respectively. 

Two former members of BNP Paribas's top Asia private banking ranks were named in new roles at rival firms. Serge Janowski, the former chief executive of wealth management of Hong Kong and North Asia at BNP Paribas, was named CEO of the Hong Kong branch of Crédit Agricole Suisse. He started the role 14 September. Meanwhile, Sharon Chou, who headed up credit and risk at the BNP Paribas's private banking arm, left to join Pictet as head of wealth management for North Asia. She succeeds Franco Cheng, who becomes senior advisor to the board of directors and a non-executive board member of Pictet (Asia).

Barclays Wealth said it will add over 20 senior private bankers to its Greater China division within the next twelve months. The new recruits will join its existing ranks of 100 relationship managers in Asia-Pacific. Currently Greater China clients are served mainly out of Hong Kong, but the bank plans to add a Singapore-based Greater China desk too. 

The bank recruited Deepak Malhotra as managing director and wealth advisor to focus on high net worth families from South Asia effective January 2012. Malhotra is from Grant Thornton and at Barclays will be working closely Jonathan Burth, head of key clients, and Andrew Tailby-Faulkes, head of client advisory.

The UK wealth manager also bolstered its Greater China desk with the hire of Januar Tjandra as head based in Hong Kong. Tjanda began on his new role in 5 December. He was hired from Goldman Sachs, where he served as relationship management executive for Taiwan. He also served as head of the Hong Kong and Taiwan desks.

HSBC appointed Bernard Rennell, an 11-year HSBC veteran, as chief executive officer for its private banking unit in North Asia. He has served as global head of private wealth solutions for the bank since 2009.

Ibbotson Associates Australia, a subsidiary of US-based asset management firm Morningstar, has named Matthew Esler head of advisor services. Esler was previously an executive director for strategy and technical services at Midwinter Financial Services. He reports directly to Chris Galloway, general manager for investment services. 

Phil Kearns, the former captain of Australia's national rugby union team, was been named chief executive officer of Centric Wealth. He will take the reins at the Australian wealth advisor from 12 December.

Banque Degroof Luxembourg, the Belgian private bank, opened a Hong Kong representative office and appointed Cecilia Chin as its chief representative and general manager. Chin used to head sales and investor relations at SAIL Advisors, a fund of hedge funds group. 

Julius Baer, the Swiss bank, named Frank Keller as chief financial officer for Asia and Tobias Murer chief operating officer for North Asia effective 1 January 2012. Keller joined the bank in November 2009 from HSBC Private Bank, while Murer has been deputy COO of Julius Baer Hong Kong since 2009. Both replace Ian Pollock, who has quit after two years running the roles jointly.

The Royal Bank of Scotland announced that Brian Hartzer had left to lead a newly-created wealth management unit at Westpac Private Bank. Hartzer now leads Australian Financial Services, which covers Westpac's wealth management unit BT Financial Group, Westpac retail and business banking, St George Banking Group and banking products and risk management. Hartzer begins on his new role next year. Also newly appointed is John Arthur to lead Group Services, another division at Westpac, as group chief operating officer. Both Hartzer and Arthur report to Gail Kelly, chief executive of Westpac.

US asset manager Titanium hired Paul Stanley as senior portfolio manager for its Sydney office. Stanley will be responsible for the TAM ASX 200 All Weather Fund, working with Peter Rice, chief investment officer. He previously worked for UBS Global Asset Management as portfolio manager.

MLC, the wealth management arm of National Australia Bank, named Jeremy Duffield as non-executive director. Duffield is the chairman of the Australian Centre for Financial Studies and before the appointment served as director on the boards of Vanguard Investments Japan and Singapore.

Hunter Hall, the ethical investment manager, appointed James McDonald as deputy chief investment officer to replace newly-departed officer Jack Lowenstein. McDonald was previously a senior portfolio manager at the company.

Kames Capital, the UK investment manager, opened an office in Hong Kong and appointed James Cooper from Liminal Image as head of business development. Cooper reports to Martin Harris, head of distribution.

North America

Signature Bank hired a trio from Wells Fargo for its growing private client banking team. Craig Anzalone, group director and senior vice president leads the three-person team and was joined by Patricia Modena, associate group director and vice president, and Karen Perry-Taylor, senior client associate.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Bank of America's brokerage business, brought in two teams of financial advisors, hiring a team from Credit Suisse’s US-based private banking unit and one from Wells Fargo Advisors. Bruce Lee and Jim Hoesley joined Merrill’s Private Banking and Investment Group in Chicago.

Savant Capital Management appointed Matt Armstrong as a financial advisor and member of the advisory team of Savant Portfolios. Michelle Angileri was named marketing coordinator, and Kathy Pirtle, was promoted to HR manager.

Manulife Asset Management named Adam Neal as Canadian head of sales and relationship management.

WeiserMazars, an accounting and financial advisory firm, promoted a trio of senior managers to partner status at its New York City and Lake Success, NY offices. Roberto Viceconte, Seth Cohen and Guillaume Wadoux were appointed partners, in the private client, tax, and procedure, insurance and reinsurance practices respectively. The firm also made three appointments to its management team, bringing in Elizabeth Collins, Anthony Annino and Janet Seekell. Collins is now a trust officer working with HNW clients, Annino was appointed as an investment analyst, responsible for investment research and portfolio construction, and Seekell is now a trust administator responsible for the administration of the firm's client accounts and trust operations.

Sanctuary Wealth Services, which provides investment and consulting services to independent advisors, appointed Michael Battey as special advisor of investment strategy. Battey was previously a managing director at Atlantic Trust Company, where he ran the firm's San Francisco office.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch hired two senior executives for its US Trust wealth management office at Menlo Park. Robert Kamme is now a senior vice president while Jeffrey Quijano takes the role of senior trust officer.

Cedar Brook Financial Partners, the Ohio-based wealth management firm, appointed Shannon Barry as client manager of the retirement plans division. Barry was previously a senior manager at Oswald Financial, where she was responsible for researching, developing and conducting educational programs for clients on retirement planning.

Marks Paneth & Shron, the accounting firm specializing in high net worth individuals and non-profits, named Harry Moehringer as co-managing partner at the firm. Moehringer served for some time on MP&S's operating and executive committees, which are responsible for overseeing management and developing strategy. In his new role, he will lead alongside Mark Levenfus. Moehringer will not assume his post until 1 January 2012, when incumbent co-managing partner Arthur Cannata vacates his position.

Bel Air Investment Advisors, the wealth management firm that specializes in high net worth individuals and families, named Mark Tunney as senior vice president. Tunney was previously the founder and managing partner at Lionshead Capital Management, an investment firm that makes direct structured equity and debt investments into publicly-traded small- and mid-cap companies.

Citi promoted its Asia-Pacific co-head Stephen Bird to the position of sole chief executive of Asia, while his former co-head, Shirish Apte, will become chairman of the region. Since 2009 Bird and Apte have shared the role, with Bird focusing on China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, and Apte concentrating on South and Southeast Asia. Bird will run Asia, but he will also continue to spend time with key clients in North Asia.

UBS Wealth Management Americas nabbed an advisory team with $1.7 billion assets under management from Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management business in Chicago. Desai Group, which has twelve-month revenue of $8.3 million, is led by Ajay Desai, who has been appointed as a managing director and private wealth advisor. He is joined by senior vice presidents John Staab and Frank Pellicori. The team works with family offices and ultra high net worth families and individuals, specializing in estate planning and concentration issues as they relate to wealth transfer and liquidity for UHNW families.

JP Morgan Chase & Co added James Bell, chief financial officer and executive vice president of the Chicago-based aerospace firm The Boeing Company, to its board of directors and audit committee. Bell oversees Boeing Capital Corporation, the company’s customer finance subsidiary, and Boeing Shared Services, a division to provide internal services across its global enterprise. He is also a member of the board of directors of US-listed Dow Chemical Company, the Chicago Urban League, World Business Chicago and the Chicago Economics Club.

The asset management giant PIMCO hired three new investment professionals, expanding its portfolio management analytics team in New York and London. Vasant Naik was appointed executive vice president and global head of empirical research, based out of PIMCO’s London offices. Stefano Risa was appointed executive vice president and head of mortgage and asset-backed analytics, based in PIMCO’s New York offices. Lastly, Riccardo Rebonato, who joined the firm on 1 December, was named executive vice president and head of rates and FX analytics, based at the firm’s London offices.

San Francisco-headquartered Bank of the West Wealth Management filled 28 of its new private client advisor positions across Western and Midwestern states.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management appointed Ridgway Powell as the managing director and team leader of its group of wealth advisors specializing in the financial affairs of ultra high net worth families and family offices. Powell worked for 25 years at BNY Mellon and most recently served as director of investments for the family office services division. He reports directly to Donald Heberle, head of the family wealth and international businesses.

Brown Brothers Harriman, the US-based wealth manager and investment bank, appointed Spence Fischer as a relationship manager at its wealth office in Chicago. Fischer takes the role of vice president at BBH and will be responsible for relationship management, investment execution and business development for the Chicago office.

PricewaterhouseCoopers appointed Lisa Pavelka McAlister as managing director of the US Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services group. McAlister previously served as senior vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

JHS Capital Advisors, the Tampa-based asset manager, brought in William Owen as a financial advisor with a focus on the South Florida market. Owen most recently served as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and currently manages $10 million in assets.

Valentine Capital Asset Management, a registered investment advisor based in the San Francisco Bay Area, appointed Reynold Samoranos as chief compliance officer. Samoranos joined Valentine from Hammerman Capital Management, a hedge fund firm, where he served as both chief financial officer and chief compliance officer.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial, the US bank holding firm, appointed Stephen Kozuch as first vice president and co-director of wealth management at PGB Trust & Investments, the wealth management unit of Peapack-Gladstone Bank. In this new position he becomes part of the team responsible for directing PGB Trust's wealth advisory offering. 

Bank of America appointed Brett Bernard as state president for Michigan. Bernard worked for Merrill Lynch for more than 27 years, initially as a financial advisor and then moving on to assume key leadership roles. He currently serves as market executive for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in the Mideast, overseeing 2,300 staff. He retains this position in addition to his new role.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management promoted Andrew Tepper to its wealth advisory team, which works with ultra high net worth families and family offices. Tepper has been with the firm since 2008, and before the appointment was a senior portfolio manager in the Philadephia region, responsible for overseeing around $600 million in discretionary and trust assets.

Four executives who recently resigned from HSBC's Israeli desk in New York are set to move to similar positions at UBS' New York-based Israel team. The team that resigned collectively was headed by Issac Doueck, head of Israel at UBS.

UBS, the Swiss banking giant, laid off some of its Canada-based staff as it ends its in-house management of Canadian-equity portfolios. Eight workers left, composed of analysts, traders and administrative support staff. Pierre Ouimet and Ron Schwartz, both senior executives, will reportedly stay temporarily while a unit of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce takes over management of the company's Canadian stock funds.

Peak Advisor Alliance, the Nebraska-based financial advisor coaching firm, appointed Vickie Seitner and Scott Wood as executive business coaches. Seitner has over 18 years of experience in management and consulting. Prior to Peak she founded her own coaching company, and also spent 10 years in human resources at Charles Schwab.

Alexandra & James, the New York wealth management and family office firm, hired Tara Gauthier as a portfolio manager and relationship manager. Gauthier has over 15 years of investment experience and previously served as a portfolio manager at US Trust Company.

The chairman of the board of UBS, Kaspar Villiger, will step down earlier than expected, to be succeeded by Axel Weber at the bank's annual general meeting next year, hastening the change of the guard at the bank in the wake of a $2.3 billion rogue trader loss. Renowned Swiss businessman and politician Villiger opted to accelerate the leadership change at UBS by not standing for re-election to the board of directors at the AGM on 3 May 2012.

Jensen Investment Management, the Oregon-based asset manager, appointed Monte Mitchell as director of sales. He will focus on service to financial advisor clients in the western US, as well as on relationships in the defined contribution channel across the country. 

UBS brought in three professionals to expand its wealth management division in Mexico, in a move it says confirms its commitment to the market there. The team includes Jaime Preciado Lopez Hidalgo, who will lead the Guadalajara metropolitan region, Gabriel Gomez, who will lead the Monterrey region, and Enrique Ignacio Morales Abiego as a managing director in the Mexico City team.

Deutsche Insurance Asset Management, the insurance managed equities unit of Deutsche Bank, expanded its New York operations with the hire of Xiaoyu Liu as portfolio manager and director. Liu is from Columbia Management Group, the asset management firm owned by Ameriprise Financial, where she served as a portfolio manager specializing in tax-efficient US and global equity strategies.

First Republic Bank hired Gene Martino, latterly of BNY Mellon, as a portfolio manager and managing director in New York City. Martino is a 15-year veteran of BNY Mellon, where he joins from and worked most recently as a managing director and senior portfolio manager.

RBC Wealth Management, the Canada-based wealth manager, hired John Moran as director of its Midtown office complex in New York City. At RBC he will oversee around 60 financial advisors and 46 additional employees serving clients in four branches: Hampton Bays, Jericho, Midtown and Southampton.

UBS Wealth Management Americas appointed two senior executives to its Boulder and Newport Beach branches in California. Arthur Polner joined as a senior vice president for investments and senior portfolio manager for the Boulder office, reporting directly to Peter Ford, the branch manager. Also newly hired is Jesse Rodriguez as SVP for the Newport Beach branch, reporting to Ron Meraz, manager of the branch.

Northern Trust appointed Katherine Ellis Nixon as chief investment officer for its personal financial services division. Nixon joined Northern Trust in 2004 as a senior portfolio manager and went on to become chief investment officer for the Northeast region in 2005.

North Carolina-headquartered Oakbrook Solutions, the wealth management and retirement services technology firm, appointed Chris Martinez as a managing consultant.

Lazard Wealth Management, a subsidiary of the financial advisory and asset management firm, named James Le Rose as a senior relationship manager based in New York. Le Rose was previously a senior client account manager and New York team leader at Bessemer Trust Company.

Brown Brothers Harriman, the investment advisor to wealthy clients, appointed Matthew Giorgetti as relationship manager for the Boston wealth management office. Giorgetti joins as vice president and brings seven years of industry experience to the firm.

RBC Wealth Management brought in two advisors from HSBC Bank USA following a series of announcements that threaten the jobs of many of the latter's workforce in the upstate New York area. Christine Cisco and Patrick Signor, formerly vice presidents and financial advisors at HSBC, are now part of RBC Wealth.

Bank of America increased the number of financial solutions advisors under its Merrill Edge brand to more than 1,200, effectively hitting its goal of doubling its FSA count by the end of 2011. The hires are part of the bank's initiative meant to enhance product and service offerings to preferred clients, or those with $50,000 to $250,000 in investible assets.

Janney Montgomery Scott, the Philadelphia-based financial services firm, made two appointments for its private client group leadership team. Jim Dornan joined as senior vice president and regional manager of the 30 offices within the firm's realigned western and southern regional network, while Ray DiGaetano, a Janney veteran, was appointed to the newly-created position of director of branch business development. 

First Republic Bank appointed Brian McNamee as managing director. In his new position he will provide individuals, families, businesses and foundations with banking, investment management, trust, brokerage and real estate lending services. 

Paresh Upadhyaya, head of Americas group of 10 currency strategy at Bank of America, is leaving the firm to become director of foreign exchange at Pioneer Investment Management. Upadhyaya will join Pioneer in Boston on December 27.

New York-headquartered private bank Brown Brothers Harriman hired Daniel Greifenkamp as head of mutual fund business development for its investment management business. Greifenkamp joins BBH as a senior vice president with responsibility for the sales and distribution strategy of BBH’s registered mutual funds in the US. He will report to Jeff Schoenfeld, partner responsible for investment management business development and relationship management, and will be based in BBH’s New York office. 

Raymond James, the financial advisory and wealth management group, made a number of appointments in both information technology and operations. Vincent Campagnoli was named senior vice president, head of Private Client Group technology strategy and development. Sateesh Prabakaran was appointed chief architect, heading key areas including architecture, enterprise data and database administration. Joe Meyer also joined the advisor technology support team at Raymond James, named to the new position of technology consultant.

John Hancock Financial, the financial services subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, appointed David Longfritz as its chief marketing officer. Longfritz previously served as senior vice president and general manager of the company's retirement income and rollover solutions division, which developed lifetime retirement solutions through John Hancock's wealth management businesses.

San Francisco-headquartered First Republic Bank hired Lance Mackey as a managing director for its Boston office. Mackey joins from Citizens Bank, and has also worked at firms including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and The Boston Company before this appointment.

Boston-based Silver Bridge Advisors hired Julie Hammerman as a client advisor to its San Francisco office, as part of the company’s ongoing expansion in the West Coast. Hammerman previously served as assistant VP in the Private Wealth Management Group at Merrill Lynch and as an associate in JP Morgan’s Private Client Group.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management hired Susan Traver as the first president of its Washington DC office, which it opened just this month. Traver joins from Wells Fargo Private Bank, where she served as regional managing director in Washington DC. She will report to David Kutch, regional president for the Mid-Atlantic region.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management appointed Penny Weeks as regional director for private banking in New England. Weeks has more than 25 years of private banking experience serving high net worth clients and their families. In her new role, she will be based in Boston and report directly to Erin Gorman, managing director of the national mortgage business. 

Raymond James Financial appointed Dennis Zank, currently president of Raymond James & Associates, as chief operating officer of the parent firm, amid a round of executive changes at its wealth management and investment banking units. Zank served as Raymond James & Associates’ president of the private client unit for the past nine years. He joined the group’s accounting department in 1978 and became controller in 1982.

ForwardThink Group, the IT and management consultancy firm, hired Alan Morley to head up its team that deals with issues created by new and upcoming financial services regulation in New York City.

Citi Private Bank appointed Claire Rosati as a director and wealth planner for the Chicago branch. Rosati joined from Barclays Wealth Trustees, where she was president and a member of the board of directors. At Barclays she led the strategic development and execution of a new national trust business.