The latest moves and appointments in wealth management in the UK, the rest of Europe, the Middle East and other select locations.

Ostrum Asset Management
Ostrum Asset Management, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, has appointed Gaëlle Théaud-Gautheron as chief operating officer, effective 1 July 2024.

A member of Ostrum’s executive committee and reporting directly to Olivier Houix, CEO, Théaud-Gautheron (pictured) will be responsible for optimising the organisation and efficiency of key processes supporting Ostrum AM's asset management activities and client service. She will also ensure coordination with Natixis Investment Managers teams, all external service providers, and will support commercial and contractual relationships. Finally, Théaud-Gautheron will coordinate Ostrum's transformation initiatives.

Théaud-Gautheron has over 20 years of expertise in the financial sector: She started her career in 2000 at consulting firm Bearing Point as a consultant and then manager in the "financial services" practice. She joined Société Générale CIB in 2005 working within the Chief Operating Office, and then as the global head of market operations. She left to found Théa Conseil, a consulting firm specialising in business consulting and change management. In 2021, Théaud-Gautheron joined the BPCE Group as co-head of organisation and transformation, and then as managing partner – transformation management office at Natixis Global Financial Services. She graduated from NEOMA Business School with a specialisation in finance.

“Her knowledge of Groupe BPCE and her consulting expertise made her the ideal candidate to optimise and streamline the relationship between Ostrum AM's teams and our providers within the group, as well as externally," Houix said.

Crestbridge Family Office Services
Independent and privately owned Crestbridge Family Office Services (FOS) has expanded its senior central services team. Emma Sanford, head of human resources, and Simon Logan, head of risk and compliance, have joined the team, led by Heather Tibbo, in order to support its commitment to evolution, the firm said in a statement.

Sanford has over 20 years’ strategic and operational experience in human resources and learning and development across financial services, legal, e-commerce, and public sectors, including most recently in the fund, corporate and fiduciary service provider space. She will be responsible for implementing a strategy to support the growth of the firm and to reflect the people-focused values of the business.

Sanford, who holds an MSc in human resources management from London Southbank University, is also a verified assessor for occupational, ability and personality tests and holds a Change Management Foundation and Practitioner qualification.

Logan has spent six years working within internal audit, followed by a decade in the Tax Office in Jersey, before he transitioned to the financial services sector. He then worked in compliance for a global banking and funds organisation, before taking on a role conducting examinations for the Jersey Financial Services Commission.

The growth of Crestbridge FOS’ central team comes at a pivotal time for the firm, which marked its tenth anniversary last year and is now embarking on a new and ambitious growth journey as a fully independent and private business. Earlier this year, the business completed its move to new headquarters in Jersey. (This publication interviewed Tibbo earlier this week.)