Transamerica Life (Bermuda)

Transamerica Life (Bermuda) (TLB) has named Brian Chui as chief operating officer (COO).

In his new role, Chui will assume leadership over operations, covering New Business, Underwriting, Customer Service and Claims. 

Based in Hong Kong, Chui was most recently chief risk officer at TLB, a role he had held since 2019. He joined Aegon Asia in 2007 and was promoted to the role of head of risk at TLB in 2011.  

With more than 15 years spent at TLB leading risk management and various functions, Chui has unrivalled experience and expertise across all aspects of operations, and has been pivotal in driving key transitional projects and initiatives. 

"Brian is a proven leader at TLB who understands our business impeccably and will be instrumental in reinforcing our strategic goal of being the provider of choice among our customers and business partners," said Chirag Rathod, CEO of TLB. "I am confident that Brian is poised to drive service excellence across all aspects of operations and deliver on our promise of safeguarding generations of wealth." 

Andy Wong relinquished the chief operating and transformation officer role on 17 November, 2023.

Nuveen

Nuveen, the $1.1 trillion global asset manager1, has expanded its global responsible investment strategy and stewardship teams with the hires of Sasha Miller and Enrico Colombo. 

Sasha Miller joins Nuveen as head of responsible investment strategy for EMEA and APAC. In the newly created role, she will be responsible for partnering with key business leaders to drive the growth of Nuveen's responsible investment offerings and solutions across the regions, and further supporting its new and existing clients' evolving needs. 

She has over 19 years' experience in the asset management industry, and joins from Schroders where she was most recently Head of Client Proposition & Strategy. Based in London, Sasha will report to Kelly Hagg, Head of Global Responsible Investing Strategy and Solutions. 

Enrico Colombo joins the firm as Senior Director of Stewardship. He will be responsible for further enhancing Nuveen's direct company engagement globally, and its leading stewardship and engagement programme and strategy. 

He has nearly a decade of experience, and  joins from Vanguard where he was lead analyst for Investment Stewardship. He will report into Peter Reali, global head of stewardship at Nuveen, and will be based in London. 

Nuveen currently has a 30-plus team of centralised responsible investment specialists globally1, and manages over $47bn2 of assets in dedicated responsible investment and impact strategies across equities, fixed income, private capital and real assets.

Amy O'Brien, global head of responsible investment at Nuveen, commented: "We believe Nuveen is uniquely positioned to make an enduring impact on our planet, and that responsible investing is not only in the best financial interests of our clients, but that it has the power to deliver real and positive environmental and social outcomes.

"These appointments further reinforce this commitment and are central to our global growth strategy. Most importantly, these strategic hires enable us to continue to best serve our clients across the globe, and help them navigate the ever-changing environmental, social and governance landscape."

AllianceBernstein 

AllianceBernstein, a global investment firm with $652bn in assets under management, has added a European and Global Growth team to expand its client offering. The team, which will join AB in January 2024, consists of five portfolio managers from Allianz Global Investors, led by Thorsten Winkelmann.                                                                                      

Thorsten Winkelmann is a portfolio manager and CIO, specializing in European Growth and Global Growth Equity strategies with nearly 25 years of experience. 

He will be joined by his team of four portfolio managers: Robert Hofmann, Marcus Morris-Eyton, Darina Valkova, and Nicolas Gonçalves. The team brings a wealth of industry knowledge, having previously run one of the largest European Growth strategies.

Chris Hogbin, head of equities at AllianceBernstein, said: "As a business, we are continuously looking at opportunities where we think there are teams or individuals that can complement our current product offerings and help us to better serve clients and consultants, while growing our business. 

"What attracted us to Thorsten and his team is their ability to broaden our Equity capabilities within the European and Global Growth areas. They have a compelling record in fundamental stock selection, a team-oriented culture and an aligned set of values."

Thorsten Winkelmann added: "I'm looking forward to bringing a complementary strategy to the AB lineup and continuing to adhere to my team's investment philosophy and values. My team and I have a strong focus on fundamental research and a disciplined investment process. We are strongly of the opinion that the AB culture is aligned with these. I am excited about this next step and look forward to bringing our strong and proven strategies to AB."

Platform One 

Platform One has hired Matt Freeguard as its new director of product to ensure the company's technology and product keeps developing to offer users a first-class experience.

Freeguard has joined the investment wrap platform and wealth software as a service provider from Shares, the trading app, where he was investment products manager.

His appointment follows the recent additions of Felicia Meyerowitz Singh and Phil Hollingdale to the Platform One's board as non-executive directors. 

Hollingdale co-founded the workplace savings and pensions company Cushon, which was sold to NatWest for £144m in June 2023. Meyerowitz Singh founded Akoni Hub, a cash management platform bought by Stubborn Edge in 2021, and co-founded AI startup Engage Smarter. She also worked at FNZ as MD of Strategic Partnerships.

Director of product Matt Freeguard said: "B2B wealth technology and platforms, particularly when it comes to the older services out there, are well known for glacial services and clunky software. Nowadays, clients are turning to and using technology every day, including personal investment and banking apps, that offer much friendlier and slick user experiences.

"I've come to Platform One with that D2C mindset to make sure our design and usability is exactly what intermediaries and their clients expect from their market-leading technology. We want to put even greater distance between ourselves and the clunky B2B crowd and make sure we offer the best and easiest-to-use technology in the market."

Platform One CEO Alex Cowan-Sanluis added: "There is always room for improvement, and I want to be confident we have the smartest and sleekest user experience in wealth technology at Platform One. 

"This is about making sure both our intermediary and end-clients enjoy using our services. Matt will bring us fantastic expertise and discipline to make sure our technology and services keep developing and offering the best user experience around."

Alex Cowan-Sanluis continued: "Phil and Felicia bring fantastic experience and skills to Platform One. They are two immensely successful fintech business creators, and they'll provide immeasurable expertise as we develop our services and grow as a company."

Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management

Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management UK and Crown Dependencies (CGWM UK) has appointed two business development directors, Toby Gower and Francis Walker, to its dedicated IFA sales team as part of its effort to expand its reach in the independent financial adviser (IFA) market. 

Gower will focus on building relationships in the Southwest of England and with national financial adviser firms and networks. He joins Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management from M&G Wealth, where he was a strategic account manager for three years.

Walker will be based in the North of England and will focus on building IFA relationships in that region. He joins from abrdn, where he worked with financial planning businesses as a Business Development Manager for over five years. 

Duncan Stratford, managing director of Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management said: "We are very pleased to welcome Toby and Francis to our dedicated IFA sales team as we focus on significantly broadening our presence in the IFA market. 

"We have a very compelling proposition for the IFA audience, and expect that Toby and Francis' experience and expertise will enable us to continue to improve the service we provide to financial advisers - helping them achieve successful investment outcomes for their clients."

Kroll

Kroll, the leading provider of global risk and financial advisory solutions, has appointed Julian Marsh as managing director in Kroll's Financial Services Compliance and Regulation practice. He brings over 25 years of experience in the banking sector, having supported some of the largest banking institutions in executing complex, largescale multi-jurisdictional regulatory and business transformation projects across all aspects of the enterprise.

Based in London, he will be focused on expanding Kroll's capabilities and footprint in the banking sector, advising clients on risk management, compliance and regulatory processes, and governance-related matters. He will be working with the c-suite at wholesale and investment banks to ensure that organisations are best prepared for the shifting business, regulatory and compliance landscape.  

"I am delighted to be joining Kroll at such an exciting time to help organisations meet the governance, control and compliance expectations of regulators, shareholders and other stakeholders in today's continually evolving business environment." said Marsh. "Meeting these expectations whilst maintaining business efficiency, flexibility and scalability is key to enabling the future success of our clients." 

ZEDRA 

ZEDRA has appointed Clare James as head of sole trustee services. 

James will act in a leadership role representing the ZEDRA Professional Corporate Sole Trustee (PCST) service, which spans the business and trustee team. 

She will be a key spokesperson and point of contact for the industry and will lead the development of ZEDRA's PCST services as they evolve to meet the changing needs of our clients and scheme members. 

She will also Chair the ZEDRA PCST committee, which oversees all ZEDRA's sole trustee appointments, setting and monitoring delivery against high service standards as well as acting as a point of escalation for our individual client teams. 

Her appointment reflects the rapid growth in sole trusteeship across the industry and the increasing importance of this governance model in helping schemes of all sizes and structures to achieve their objectives efficiently and cost-effectively. 

James said: "I am excited to assume this important role at such a pivotal time. At ZEDRA, we firmly believe that our distinctive approach to sole trusteeship will deliver the best of both worlds for our clients, combining the personal touch of a dedicated client team with a robust governance platform, state-of-the-art technology, and specialist support from the wider group. This allows us to efficiently manage schemes along their journey plans without compromising on collaboration and putting members first." 

Kim Nash, managing director of ZEDRA Governance, said: "We appointed Clare to this central role for her energy, experience, and track record in the sole trustee space. We expect strong growth in demand for PCST services, and Clare will lead the team as we respond to this without compromising on the high-quality governance our clients expect. We put our scheme members at the heart of everything we do, and Clare will help to ensure that our sole trustee service continues to offer the outcomes that members deserve, and the efficiencies and effective governance that employers expect." 

Clare James has been a client director at ZEDRA since January 2019. She is a highly experienced trustee with an extensive background in sole trusteeship, bringing 30 years' experience in the pensions industry. Before joining ZEDRA, she spent the majority of her career as a Principal, Scheme Actuary and investment consultant at Punter Southall (now XPS).