EFG International
Following the successful completion of the platform migration of the former BSI businesses in Zurich and Geneva onto EFG’s IT platform, EFG International announces the appointment of Giorgio Pradelli as EFG’s new chief executive effective 1 January 2018.
Joachim Straehle has announced his retirement as of end-2017, when the full integration of former BSI into EFG is expected to be completed. Dimitris Politis will succeed Giorgio Pradelli in his role as chief financial officer, and Renato Cohn has been appointed EFG’s future deputy chief executive.
Withers
Tracy Evlogidis has joined international law firm Withers as head of Immigration in London. Evlogidis has previously led the immigration teams at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and other leading City firms.
Having practised in the immigration law field for more than 18 years, Evlogidis is recognised as one of the foremost advisers in the field and has been listed by Chambers and Legal 500.
Evlogidisis is a member of the Home Office Business and Operational Forum, which works with the government on legal and policy changes in immigration. She regularly represents clients at the Migration Advisory Committee, and sits on the Law Society’s Brexit Steering Management Committee.
Withers international immigration practice offers advice from New York, London and Hong Kong.
Boal & Co
Boal & Co is strengthening its insurance actuarial consulting team with the appointment of Neil Taverner as senior consulting actuary.
For the last five years, Taverner has been senior actuary at the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority, leading its actuarial team and the development of the island’s new capital adequacy regime for the life and non-life insurance sectors.
His previous experience includes as chief actuary and chief risk officer of Old Mutual’s operations in the UK, Isle of Man and Europe, and as a partner in the UK actuarial consulting practices of both Ernst & Young and Watson Wyatt.
He has a total of over 30 years’ experience in regulation, industry and consulting, in the Isle of Man, UK, France and Mexico.
Sasfin Wealth
Johannesburg based Sasfin Wealth has appointed Erol Zeki as chief executive.
Zeki, a founder of SIPP Investments, has 17 years of experience in the industry and has been chief executive of FNB Securities and BJM Private Client Services.
Outgoing chief executive Michael Sassoon will continue to serve as an executive director of Sasfin Holdings and board member of Sasfin Wealth.
Old Mutual Wealth
Old Mutual Wealth announces the appointment of Paul Hucknall as HR director and a member of the Old Mutual Wealth Executive Committee (subject to regulatory approval).
Reporting to Paul Feeney, chief executive of Old Mutual Wealth, he will be responsible for directing OMW’s HR function in preparation for the business’ proposed listing on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges in 2018.
Hucknall joins from Lloyds Banking Group, where he has worked for almost a decade, most recently as the People Director. Hucknall will join OMW on 1 January 2018.
Unigestion
Unigestion, the boutique asset manager that focuses on providing its clients with risk-managed investment solutions, has appointed Alexandre Déruaz as head of portfolio construction for the firm’s equities products.
Déruaz joins Unigestion following a decade at Lombard Odier, where he was most recently head of Systematic Equities & Alternatives.
Prior to this role, Déruaz was head of Smart Beta Solutions at the firm as well as an Equity Fund Manager. Before joining Lombard Odier in 2007, he spent three years as a quantitative analyst and portfolio manager at Union Bancaire Privée, and four years as a Portfolio Manager for balanced mandates at BNP Paribas.
Based in Geneva, Déruaz will lead the firm’s equity portfolio construction reporting to Unigestion’s head of equities, Alexei Jourovski.
Investcorp
Nemir Kirdar, the founder of Bahrain-based alternative asset manager Investcorp, has stepped down from the company after 35 years.
Investcorp said that Kirdar, who founded the company in 1982 as a conduit for Arabian Gulf investors interested in acquiring international assets, has left his post as chairman of the board of directors to enter full retirement. Kirdar resigned as chief executive, a post he had held since founding the company, in July 2015.
Vice-chairman Yousef Al Ebraheem has been nominated as Kirdar’s successor, and Khalid Al Zayani has been appointed vice-chairman of the board.
Investec Asset Management
Investec Asset Management has expanded its German team with the hire of Franziska Laepple. Laepple joins from Alliance Bernstein Ltd where she spent 12 years.
Eaton Vance
Eaton Vance Management International (EVMI), a subsidiary of Eaton Vance Management, has appointed Thomas Body as the business development director for Germany and Austria, reporting to TJ Halbertsma, managing director, EVMI.
EVMI is awaiting regulatory approval to establish a local EVMI branch in Frankfurt to be led by Body.
Maitland
Maitland, the global advisory and fund administration firm, has appointed Greg Kok as Head of ManCo Services.
Kok joins Maitland from MPL Management in Luxembourg where he was Managing Director.
