People Moves: Franklin Templeton, Ogier, Carey Olsen, Crestbridge, Bank of Singapore, Alger Management

Franklin Templeton

Franklin Templeton has appointed Christian Leger as Head of Distribution - Switzerland, effective 1 August 2023.

Based in Zurich, he will be responsible for business development efforts and driving the wholesale and institutional distribution of Franklin Templeton's investment strategies to clients in Switzerland. 

Leger will lead an experienced team of sales professionals based in Switzerland and work in close coordination with Franklin Templeton's regional distribution teams and alternative sales specialists to engage clients on the firm's full range of asset management capabilities.

Leger said: "I am thrilled to join such an experienced team and look forward to leveraging my expertise to further Franklin Templeton's distribution efforts in Switzerland. Franklin Templeton has a strong reputation and more than 75-year-history in offering a diverse and innovative range of investment solutions. We will continue to build on its strong position in the Swiss market in delivering exceptional services to clients."
Leger joins from Nuveen, where he was Managing Director and Head of Switzerland with a focus on institutional clients and private wealth investors. Prior to that, he worked as Swiss Country Head and Head of European Banks at Allianz Global Investors. Leger started his career at Capital Group where he spent over 17 years in several leadership positions. He has a joint BA (honours) SOAS University of London, where he studied politics and Arabic.
 
Switzerland remains a key market for Franklin Templeton in Europe, where the firm established am office over 25 years ago. Of late, Swiss investors have shown an increasing interest in alternative investments, including private equity and private debt which can offer diversification benefits. Franklin Templeton is one of the largest managers of alternative assets globally with $257 billion out of the total of over $1.4 trillion in alternative AUM as of June 30, 2023.
 
Ogier Regulatory Consulting

Ogier Regulatory Consulting has strengthened its offering for European clients with the appointment of Owen Woolgar as head of Ogier Regulatory Consulting, Europe while also expanding its expertise to include cyber security advice with the appointment of Gavin Baxendale as Client Director in the Cayman Islands.

Based in Jersey, Owen's role will be to build out the capability of the team to help deliver large and complex regulatory engagements, specifically around anti money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) and countering proliferation financing (CPF).

He has worked in offshore financial services for more than 18 years, with more than 12 years leading complex remediation programmes for global clients and local regulatory advisory work for financial services clients. This includes helping clients make the right long-term decisions around outsourced managed services, systems, and ongoing monitoring to help manage their AML/CFT/CPF risks. Owen will also expand the team's offerings around Regulatory Due Diligence as well as supporting the division's existing offerings.

Meanwhile, Baxendale will bring his industry and vendor knowledge together with his partner network to expand Ogier Regulatory Consulting's skillset and service offering in IT solutions, cyber audit, gap analysis, risk management, policy and governance development, data law conformity, regulatory advisory and forensics. His universally-applicable expertise means he will also support other jurisdictions.

Gavin has worked in IT consultancy for 20 years and has extensive project management experience in the Caribbean. He specialises in infrastructure design, gap analysis, audit, regulatory requirements and road mapping, as well as staffing and IT/cyber-related training. He is also on the board of the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) - Cayman Islands.

Managing Director of Ogier Regulatory Consulting, Tui Iti, said: "Owen is an exciting addition to the team. His years of experience will bring new ideas to the team as we support our clients to navigate the complex and ever-changing regulatory landscape and mitigate risk."

Commenting on Gavin's appointment, Lisa Bowyer, Head of Ogier Regulatory Consulting in the Cayman Islands, said: "We are pleased to expand our expertise by welcoming Gavin to the team. It is important to keep pace as the rapid expansion of technology brings about greater security challenges. This appointment extends our reach of potential clients and ensures that we remain at the forefront of an ever-changing financial services landscape.

"Cybersecurity frameworks, risk management, IT systems controls and use of the internet are among the good practices and areas of concern in the recent Cayman Islands Monetary Authority's Thematic Cybersecurity Review and we now have someone perfectly placed to advise clients on these issues."

Carey Olsen

Carey Olsen has promoted advocates Claire Le Quesne and Will Whitehead to its Jersey partnership.

Advocate Le Quesne has been with Carey Olsen since 2006 and qualified as a Jersey Advocate in 2011. She advises clients in respect of corporate and funds matters, most notably corporate real estate and investment funds (both listed and non-listed).

She acts for fund clients on both their upstream fund launches, structurings, co-investments and re-structurings as well as the downstream portfolio acquisitions and financings.

Advocate Whitehead, who joined Carey Olsen in 2005, has over 15 years' experience advising clients on commercial and residential property matters. 

His practice centres on development and infrastructure projects, advising on planning and regulatory matters and across the full construction life cycle from site acquisition or disposal, development finance, procurement strategy and legal structuring.

He acts for local and international investors on commercial property acquisitions and disposals, advises on leasehold transactions, and has experience in banking and secured lending, advising lenders and borrowers on a variety of finance transactions. 

The firm has also promoted Simon Hall (Litigation, BVI) and Patricia Montgomery (Trusts and Private Wealth, Guernsey) to the partnership.

The four promotions bring the total number of partners across the Carey Olsen group to 74.

Carey Olsen group managing partner Alex Ohlsson said: "Congratulations to Claire, Will, Simon and Patricia on their well-deserved promotions. 

"Each has already made a significant contribution to Carey Olsen and earned excellent reputations for their commitment to our clients, and to the continued development of the business. The partnership is delighted to have them on board."

Crestbridge

Crestbridge has appointed Stacey Moody as a Director in its Corporate Services team as it continues to grow its internationally focused corporate services proposition.

In her new role, Stacey will take responsibility for supporting the needs of Crestbridge's global corporate client base, while also working with the senior management team to drive the evolution of the business's existing comprehensive suite of services and solutions.

Stacey has over 15 years' experience in the financial services industry, most recently specialising as a corporate company secretary with Intertrust Group, based in Sydney, Australia. She has a strong track-record in upholding high standards of corporate governance. She has experience providing services to a range of diverse organisations, including private equity and real estate funds and stock exchange-listed companies.

Stacey holds the Diploma in Offshore Finance and Administration from the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators.

Stacey's appointment adds further expertise to Crestbridge's already highly experienced multijurisdictional Corporate Services.

Commenting on Stacey's appointment, Ana Kekovska, Group Head of Corporate Services at Crestbridge, said: "Our international proposition for the corporate market continues to evolve in line with the rising demand we are seeing for outsourced expert and specialist secretarial services in what is an increasingly complex landscape. Stacey's international knowledge and experience will add considerable value to our existing team's capabilities, with her appointment supporting our strategy to deliver first class service to clients across a full range of corporate service needs."

Bank of Singapore

Bank of Singapore has named two new senior executives for its Middle East business.

The group, part of Singapore-listed Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), has appointed Bora Armangil as COO for the business, effective 1 August 2023. He brings with him more than 20 years of experience in the wealth management industry.

A dual Swiss and British citizen, Armangil, who began his career with IBM, has served in senior roles in Deutsche Bank and Union Bancaire Privee overseeing technology, operations and business management. Prior to joining Bank of Singapore, he ran XNext, a wealth management consultancy which he founded to provide advisory, change and project management services to private banks.

The bank has also appointed Rebecca Genty-Nott as head of human resources for the bank's DIFC branch, subject to authorities' approval of her work visa. A CIPD qualified HR professional, Gentry-Nott started her career in the United Kingdom with Lloyds TSB Private Bank in 2001. She subsequently moved on to C Hoare & Co in London as a private banking relationship manager.

Gentry-Nott has been working in Dubai for the past 13 years in a range of senior roles in marketing support and HR at Julius Baer, LGT and Octogone. She holds a bachelors degree from Oxford University and a masters in international HR and global mobility from Erasmus University in the Netherlands.

Both individuals will both report to Ranjit Khanna, global market head of Middle East and chief executive, DIFC Branch, as well as their respective global functional heads in Singapore

Alger Management 

Alger Management, a privately-owned $22 billion growth equity investment manager, is expanding its global distribution presence with the hiring of two senior professionals in Europe and Asia.

Stephen Hearle has joined as Senior Vice President, Head of EMEA Business Development, and he will be based in London, U.K. In this new role, he will be responsible for developing Alger's relationships with institutional investors, investment consultants, wealth managers, private banks, family offices and fund selectors across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Stephen will report to Fred Alger & Company, LLC, President and Chief Distribution Officer Christoph Hofmann, CFA.

Stephen King, who has joined as Senior Vice President, Head of APAC Business Development, will be based in Singapore. In this new role, Stephen will be focused on business development opportunities with institutional investors, consultants, high net worth individuals, wealth managers, private banks and family offices across Asia. Stephen will report to Stephen Hearle.

"Growing our global footprint is of strategic importance for the continued growth of the firm, and hiring the right leaders is the first step," said Hofmann. "Stephen and Stephen both have impressive pedigrees and remarkable track records of building relationships in their respective regions. Alger has made a long-term commitment to both existing and future clients in Europe and Asia and we will deliver exceptional growth equity opportunities to investors." 

"It is a privilege to join Alger at this moment in time, and I am excited to expand the firm's deep institutional and wealth management knowledge throughout the EMEA region," said Hearle. King added, "I look forward to working alongside Alger's talented team to bring unique growth equity opportunities to investors across Asia." 

Alger has provided asset management capabilities in Europe for more than 25 years and opened its London office in 2014. Non-U.S. investors can access Alger investment offerings through Alger SICAV, sub-advised, and separate account mandates. Alger SICAV, a Luxembourg UCITS vehicle, makes the funds available to non-U.S. investors in both U.S. dollar-, Euro-, and Pound sterling-denominated classes.

Stephen Hearle has 25 years of distribution experience. Prior to joining Alger, Stephen was Head of Institutional & Wholesale Distribution & Global Head of Consultant Relations at Nordea Asset Management in London. Previously, Stephen was Senior Vice President, Head of EMEA Distribution & Head of EMEA Consultant Relations at Pyramis Global Advisors where he developed and promoted the distribution business in EMEA. Before that, he worked at Threadneedle Asset Management where he was Head of Institutional Distribution and Global Head of Consultant Relations. Stephen received his B.Sc. from the University College London where he studied Architecture, Planning and Building and Environmental Studies.

Stephen King has 23 years of financial services experience. Prior to joining Alger, Stephen served as the Head of Institutional Sales APAC at Fiera Capital, where he led business development and managed key client accounts within the APAC institutional markets. Prior to that, he worked in EMEA Institutional Sales at Fiera Capital where he focused on expanding sales and services to institutional clients. Stephen also held various leadership positions in institutional sales at the Rohatyn Group in both Singapore and London.