People Moves: Universal, Mourant, Muzinich & Co, Standard Life

We round up the latest job changes in the industry each week.

Universal Investment Group

Universal Investment Group has appointed Nils Mordt to the new role of head of international sales and relationship management.

Mordt joins from CACEIS, where he was managing director and head of regional coverage UK, US, Middle East, and Asia.  Prior to that, he spent more than six years at RBC Investor Services, most recently as head of UK client coverage, and previously held senior roles at CME Group.

In his new role, Mordt will be based in London and will lead the firm’s sales and client relationship strategy across international markets.

Antonio Soler, chief commercial officer of Universal investment Group, said : “We are delighted to welcome Nils to Universal Investment as we continue to scale our international business and strengthen our commercial leadership.

“Nils brings deep expertise in asset servicing and a strong track record of building long-term client partnerships, further enhancing our ability to deliver best-in-class, client-focused solutions across jurisdictions.”

Mordt added: “I am excited at the opportunity to foster new relationships with an existing talented team and to contribute to the next chapter of Universal Investment’s success. 

“My focus will be on unlocking new opportunities internationally, and ensuring our clients achieve exceptional outcomes as they navigate evolving regulatory and distribution requirements.”

Universal Investment is also expanding roles and remits in its core DACH market, with Marcus Kuntz named as group head of strategic partner management and fund distribution, and Dirk Grosshans’ remit as head of business development DACH now including sales responsibilities across the full spectrum of asset classes in the DACH region, covering both asset managers and asset owners.

Mordt, Kuntz and Grosshans will report to Soler.

Mourant 

International professional services firm Mourant has made 75 promotions across its international business.

The promotions, which span the firm's Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, and Mauritius offices, comprise 12 in the legal practice, 45 in governance services, two in consulting, and 15 across business services. 

Mourant CEO, Jonathan Rigby, said: "I'm delighted to announce this year's promotions round and would like to congratulate all colleagues on their well-deserved achievements.

At Mourant, we remain firmly committed to career development and professional growth. This commitment sits at the heart of our culture and is closely aligned with our strategic priorities and growth plans." 

Muzinich & Co

Muzinich & Co has hired Shailaja Krishnamurthy as director, business development, as it continues to expand its presence in the Middle East.

Shailaja will be based in the firm’s Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) office and will work alongside Filomena Cocco, managing director, global business development, to support the growth of Muzinich’s regional business.

Shailaja has previously held senior investment positions at Jupiter Wealth, RAKBANK and Klay Group.

Cocco said: "We are delighted to welcome Shailaja to the team. Her strong track record across portfolio management, client advisory and product development, combined with her long-term experience and understanding of the regional market, will be invaluable as we continue to build and expand our presence in the Middle East."

Standard Life

Gail Izat has been promoted to the newly created position of chief operating officer (COO) for Standard Life’s Pensions & Savings business.

In her new role, Izat will be responsible for leading the delivery of the unit’s strategy, transformation, integration and risk activity to support Standard Life’s growth plans for the P&S business following the acquisition of Aegon UK.

Izat has been managing director for Workplace since 2019 and more recently took on responsibility for the retail intermediary channel. Emma Furlonger – who has worked closely with Gail since 2021 – will assume this role on an interim basis, until a formal recruitment process has completed.

Angela Byrne, CEO of Pensions & Savings at Standard Life, said the moves will be central to the business becoming a top five player in the retail space.

“These appointments are a recognition of the impact that both Gail and Emma have made at Standard Life.

“Under Gail’s leadership Standard Life has become a top three player in Workplace and has set out a clear direction for our Retail Intermediary offer. In her new role she will look more broadly at how we deliver the P&S strategy for our 12 million customers.

“Emma is ideally placed to step into Gail’s shoes given how closely they’ve worked together over the last five years.”