The Marlborough Group’s Investment Fund Services is to appoint Katherine Damsell as independent non-executive chair of the company.

Damsell was CEO of The Bank of New York Mellon International UK between 2018 and 2022 and held a number of senior positions during 20 years at the bank. She has more than 40 years’ experience in financial services.

Damsell has joined IFS as an independent non-executive director and, subject to FCA approval, will take over as chair from Guy Sears.

Sears, a former Interim CEO of the Investment Association, is retiring after seven years as a non-executive director with the Marlborough Group and a financial services career spanning more than 30 years. He will though continue to work with the Marlborough Group on a number of forthcoming projects.

Investment Fund Services is a leading provider of independent authorised corporate director (ACD) services. As ACD, Investment Fund Services works in partnership with companies such as financial adviser firms and investment managers to enable them to launch and operate their own funds. The role of the ACD includes taking ultimate responsibility for a fund’s compliance with FCA regulations and ensuring that the fund is managed in the best interests of its investors.

Leading investment manager Evenlode announced in November that it was preparing to appoint Investment Fund Services as ACD for its three UK-domiciled funds – Evenlode Income, Evenlode Global Income and Evenlode Global Equity – which have more than £5.5 billion of assets under management.

Earlier this month, Wise Funds announced it will be appointing Investment Fund Services as ACD for its two funds, Wise Multi-Asset Growth and Wise Multi-Asset Income, which have more than £150m of assets under management.

Allan Hamer, CEO of Investment Fund Services, said: “Guy Sears has made an important contribution to the growth of Investment Fund Services and the wider Marlborough Group and I would like to thank him for his excellent work as chair and all the valuable input and guidance he has provided.

“In Katherine, we believe we have found an outstanding new chair. She has a wealth of financial services experience and shares both our commitment to making a difference by delivering first-class outcomes for investors and the Marlborough Group’s all-important ‘can-do’ philosophy.

“She has extensive experience in successfully translating strategy into business growth and has exceptional people and relationship-building skills. I have no doubt she’ll prove to be a highly effective chair, providing an important independent perspective as we continue to turn our ambitious growth strategy into a reality.”

Katherine Damsell said: “Investment Fund Services have a well-deserved reputation for providing an ACD service of the highest quality, while also being great to work with, and I’m delighted to be joining a company, and wider group, with such a breadth and depth of expertise.

“One of the things that’s particularly impressed me is the commitment at all levels to helping partner businesses grow by providing the support they need to deliver first-class outcomes for their clients. That’s very much in tune with my own values and I’m looking forward to playing a role in the next chapter of this exciting growth story.”