Zurich-headquartered Avaloq, a specialist in wealth management technology and services, has just made a senior hire to expand the firm’s offering in Europe.

Avaloq has appointed Dr Heiko Beck (pictured) as managing director for Europe to oversee the firm’s activities in Germany, the UK, Luxembourg and the rest of Europe. Based in Zurich, he will take up the role and join Avaloq’s group executive board in March.

In this role, which was previously held by Thomas Fischer, Beck will accelerate digital transformation in the region by enhancing service delivery and expanding the Avaloq community, also supporting the development of the Avaloq offering globally.

Until June 2024, Beck was the CEO at Deutsche WertpapierService Bank (dwpbank), where he introduced a client-centric approach to securities services while driving the operational and technological transformation of the business. Before joining dwpbank, Beck held various executive management positions at Union Investment, Commerzbank, DekaBank and Deutsche Börse Group, the firm said in a statement.

“His notable expertise in navigating the complexities of the highly regulated finance sector, with a focus on promoting stability, growth and managing risk, will greatly benefit our clients in Europe, helping them to achieve their strategic goals,” Martin Greweldinger, group chief executive officer at Avaloq, said.

Recently, Avaloq released new research showing that a quarter of investors globally would consider switching from wealth managers that fail to modernise and embrace new technology.