People Moves; Kingwood, Ogier, ThomasLloyd, Guinness Global Investors, Aaro Capital , FV Bank 

Kingswood

Kingswood Holdings, the international, fully integrated wealth and investment management group, is today pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Hammick as Chief Risk officer.  

He has over 26 years of experience in financial services having worked at Lloyds Banking Group, 11 years of which were at executive level leading sizable risk, operational and sales teams. 

David Lawrence, CEO at Kingswood, commented: "The appointment of Paul reflects the growing scale and maturity of our business and introduces greater depth and capability to our executive team as we realise our ambitions. I'm delighted for him to join the team today."

The appointment represents another step in Kingswood's growth strategy and further illustrates the firm's ambition to be a leading wealth management business internationally. 

Kingswood have completed a large number of acquisitions over the past year, including the acquisitions of Barry Fleming, JCH, JFP, Strategic Asset managers in Glasgow as well as the first footprint in the Irish market with MMPI at the start of the year.  Kingswood has grown its assets under management globally to over £10bn in assets and have a strong pipeline of further acquisitions in exclusive due diligence. 

Ogier Global 
Ogier's Corporate and Fiduciary services business, Ogier Global, is expanding its service offering in Ireland, starting with the appointment of Michael Carroll as head of Debt Capital Markets.

Ogier Global in Ireland provides management services in the structured finance, aviation and corporate markets such as Irish resident directorships, share trustee services and company secretarial services, as well as administration services including incorporation services, financial reporting and board support. It will be growing the size of the Ireland team over the next few months.

He has more than 16 years' experience in the corporate services and banking industries, and a broad range of experience using special purpose vehicles (SPVs) domiciled in Ireland and the Cayman Islands.

He will work with the law firm's Banking and Finance team and the wider business to build a platform to provide bespoke administration services to a range of clients, including financial institutions, hedge funds, private equity firms, aircraft lessors, commodity trading houses and large corporates.

Partner in Ogier's Ireland office John Hogan said: "We are very excited to see Ogier Global establishing itself in Dublin. Michael is a very welcome addition and we look forward to bringing new and complementary opportunities, products and solutions to our respective markets."

He joins Ogier from a leading global corporate administration business in Ireland where he was head of capital markets with responsibility for the corporate services and loan agency business. He worked as part of a cross-product and service team to establish and grow the firm's capital markets book. Prior to that he held senior positions at a multi-national investment bank and financial services company, which have given him significant experience in managing complex transactions.

He will also bring his expertise to Ogier's Aviation and Marine sector. He has previously worked on, and acted as director to, a variety of aviation leasing transactions involving Irish-domiciled SPVs, including, sale and lease backs, operating leases, finance leases, JOLCOs, Aviation Funds utilising Cayman investment vehicles and Irish Asset Owning Entities/SPVs, and Lease in Lease out vehicles.

"I am delighted to have joined Ogier at this exciting time," he said. "Ogier Global will leverage the expertise across the business to provide a broad range of services to the aviation leasing and structured finance markets. These services will complement legal and tax advice that we can provide clients, including a full suite of corporate services to the SPVs involved."

With more than 50% of aircraft leasing transactions undertaken through Irish entities, Ireland is widely recognised as a preferred jurisdiction for the establishment of SPVs by international originators, arrangers, and managers. These entities are established as standalone legal entities, which isolate assets and liabilities from the originating company to provide a higher degree of protection to investors.

Ireland's regulatory framework is well established, providing a stable and predictable environment, while the Irish Stock Exchange is a leading listing venue for such transactions.

ThomasLloyd 

ThomasLloyd advisor and asset manager, has named  Nadir Maruf as chief Investment Officer with immediate effect. 

Nadir joins ThomasLloyd's executive management team, reporting to Michael Sieg, the Group's Chief Executive Officer, and is responsible for developing and executing the group's investment strategy. Nadir will help drive ThomasLloyd's continued expansion as an impact investor in sustainable energy infrastructure projects across Asia, drawing on more than 25 years' experience in alternative investments.

Michael Sieg, ThomasLloyd's Group CEO, said: "Nadir not only brings a formidable background in asset management and infrastructure, while also having extensive experience of working across ThomasLloyd's key target markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

"His leading role in the strategic implementation of the net zero pathway for private assets and obligations, as well as his participation in World Bank initiatives and development of responsible investment policies and frameworks have offered him unique exposure and insights into international sustainable climate policy practices. Nadir's appointment is strategically important for ThomasLloyd and is proof of our ongoing commitment to bringing groundbreaking sustainable investment strategies to the institutional investment arena."

Prior to joining ThomasLloyd, he held the role of Head of Private Markets at Tesco Pension Investment, where he was responsible for the private markets business and underlying portfolios, including overseeing all direct and indirect unlisted strategies. During his tenure there, he was closely involved in the strategy and implementation of a net zero pathway for private assets and obligations under the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and Stewardship Code.

Prior to this, Nadir was based in Singapore as the CIO of Alternatives & Head of Direct Infrastructure at Eastspring Investments, Prudential Corporation's asset management business in Asia. His primary role included responsibility for direct infrastructure in the Asia Pacific, global private equity, and direct special situations debt. He also oversaw the firm's investment in the IFC MCPP Program, participation in DFI / World Bank initiatives, and the development of Eastspring's responsible investment policy and initial carbon reporting framework. 

Previous senior asset management and infrastructure roles in Asia and Europe held by Nadir included Managing Director, Head of Alternatives & Real Assets and Head of Infrastructure Asia Pacific for Deutsche Asset Management in Singapore. He was also a founding partner of Daestrum Capital.

Guinness Global Investors 

Guinness Global Investors has appointed Dennis Mehrtens as Head of Sales in Germany.  

Based in Frankfurt, Dennis will work alongside Deborah Kay, Global Head of Distribution, to grow Guinness' client base throughout Germany, and promoting the diverse fund range to new and existing investors. 

Dennis was most recently Managing Director for the DACH region at Fiera Capital (previously Charlemagne Capital). He brings with him over ten years' experience in the industry to his new role. Dennis was sales manager at LOYS AG before joining Charlemagne Capital. 

This announcement is the latest in a series of new hires at Guinness, including the appointment of Tom Pearson as Sales Director for the southwest England in the UK distribution team and the appointment of distribution partners internationally.

Deborah Kay, Global Head of Distribution at Guinness Global Investors, said: "We are excited to welcome Dennis to the team where his appointment reflects our strong commitment to the German market and the growth of Guinness Global Investors across Europe. We look forward to the role he'll play in growing and strengthening our offering in Germany." 

Dennis Mehrtens said: "I look forward to further building and strengthening Guinness' presence in Germany by promoting our diverse fund range to both new and existing investors in the country. It is an exciting time to join Guinness as its European footprint is growing and coverage in each region is increasing. I look forward to working closely with Deborah Kay, Global Head of Distribution." 

Aaro Capital 

Aaro Capital, the cryptoassets and DLT investment specialist, has appointed Axel Ullmann as Sales Director based in Germany and overseeing the sales and distribution activities in the region, focusing on the development of new and existing institutional client relationships. Alex joins the growing team of 20 and will be working closely with CEO Peter Habermacher. 

He has over 20 years of experience in senior sales and management roles in the asset management sector. Most recently, he worked at Degroof Petercam Asset Management (DPAM) as Senior International Sales Director for six years. Prior to this, he was Head of Wholesale Germany and Austria at Amundi and held senior positions at KBC and UBS. Axel started his career as a Navy Officer before joining UBS as an assistant to the board. 

FV Bank 

FV Bank, the U.S. licensed global digital bank that offers a vertically-integrated suite of traditional and digital asset banking and custody services, today announced the appointment of Luz Mabel del Valle as new Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), effective immediately. 

As CRO, del Valle will serve on the executive team and lead all risk management functions including financial, product, operational, and enterprise risk. 

"I'm delighted to welcome Luz to FV Bank to our leadership team," said FV Bank CEO Miles Paschini. "Luz brings a wealth of experience and expertise in risk management and compliance which will be invaluable as we continue to expand our innovative suite of offerings. Her role in overseeing our risk management team and monitoring regulatory compliance will ensure we are well-positioned to continue to grow sustainably while maintaining a strong commitment to safety and security." 

Del Valle brings over twenty years of multi-faceted expertise in bank operations, risk analysis, and management. Luz was previously Chief Compliance and Accounting Officer at Encanto Group, Chief Compliance Officer at Stern International Bank, and a Principal Examiner at the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF). 

"I'm excited to join FV Bank and to work with Miles and his entire leadership team to deliver on their vision of best-in-class banking services to the traditional finance and digital asset sectors," said del Valle. "I am looking forward to contributing to FV Bank's continued success by helping develop and grow the risk management framework to ensure that FV Bank can capitalize on future growth opportunities while maintaining a strong commitment to the core principles of sensible risk management that all banks should abide by."

FV Bank is a global digital bank and digital asset custodian regulated by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF), Puerto Rico, USA. FV Bank seamlessly integrates banking and payments with digital asset custody services in a regulated and compliant infrastructure. With products ranging from depository accounts and payment services to digital asset custody and VISA card issuance, FV Bank supports the unique requirements of corporates, institutions, family offices and their respective clients through online banking and integrated API solutions