City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week?
City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email [email protected] to be featured.
Exclusive: Kin Fund Services poaches secretarial lead from Flutter
Alternative investment fund manager and fund administrator Kin Fund Services, part of Kin Group, has poached Deirdre Quinn from FTSE 100’s Flutter Entertainment, Morning Wire can reveal.
Quinn has joined as head of company secretarial and legal, and will lead the firm’s company secretarial division following Kin’s acquisition of secretarial business Derringtons earlier this year.
Formerly company secretary for sports entertainment and FTSE 100 firm Flutter, which owns Paddy Power and Betfair.
The incoming secretarial and legal lead is set to oversee the Kin’s, a venture capital group, expansion into the company secretarial businesses.
Co-principal of the Kin Group, Richard Hoskins, said the firm is “delighted to welcome Deirdre to the team”.
“Following the integration of Derringtons into Kin Group, our company secretarial service is firing on all cylinders. High quality company secretarial services are thin on the ground and there is an ever increasing demand for better corporate governance.”
Railsbank poaches chief product officer from LSE star Wise
London headquartered embedded finance platform Railsbank has poached its new chief product officer from the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) star child Wise.
Stuart Gregory joins the Railsbank ExCo to lead product, engineering and partnerships, as the finance platform enacts its expansion plans.
Formerly managing director of Wise Business and Wise Platform, Gregory has overseen and supported fintech giant Wise’s rapid growth over the last five years, which led to the LSE’s biggest ever tech float with a £9bn listing in July.
“I’ve been watching Railsbank closely for a few years, as I think they uniquely have the vision to solve this both globally and in a fundamental way,” the incoming CPO said.
“Embedded finance is a huge opportunity. It finally moves us beyond stand-alone financial services and brings them directly into the context of our relationships with people and brands.”
Prior to Wise, Gregory he was vice president of product at Paysafe Group and before that, was Visa Europe’s vice president of head of Visa Checkout product development.
Co-founder and CEO of Railsbank, Nigel Verdon, said: “It is with great pleasure that we welcome Stuart to the team and he has already made a significant contribution at what is a very exciting time for us.”
Lloyds Bank snaps up new ESG finance director from Wood
As eyes falls on green capital and fossil fuel investment chains ahead of COP26, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has appointed a new lead to its sustainability and ESG finance team.
Tara Schmidt joins as the bank’s sustainability and ESG finance director and will provide technical insight into the financial challenges and opportunities faced by the bank’s clients in a greener era.
With more than 20 years’ experience in businesses sustainability, Schmidt moves from engineering and consulting giant Wood, where she was vice president of strategic planning.
Schmidt was responsible for supporting Wood and its clients in acting on their low-carbon transition strategies.
“I’m proud to be joining an organisation at the forefront of the UK’s push towards net zero carbon and the role I will play in helping inform business strategies for achieving a more sustainable future,” she said.
The Sustainability and ESG finance team, first created in April this year, is designed to provide insights to clients to inform their own green strategies.
Schmidt’s hire follows that of newly appointed Francesca Sharp, the team’s propositions and partnerships lead.
Managing director and head of the new ESG team, Jonas Persson, said: “Tara’s extensive experience which has helped many businesses transition to low energy targets, made her a standout choice for the role and we’re looking forward to seeing the impact she makes on the team and our clients.
“She will prove an invaluable asset as we help our clients meet their ESG needs and build back in a way that is greener.”
Law firm Haynes Boone bags DWF lead
Law firm Haynes Boone has bagged a fresh Holborn-based partner from London-listed law firm DWF this week.
Martin Pugsley, a dual qualified English and Italian solicitor, joins the firm’s capital markets and securities practice group.
With significant experience handling cross-border finance transactions across Europe, Pugsley is set to tap his wealth of experience in debt capital markets, corporate finance, and alternative investments, including SPACs.
Previously global head of the financial services sector at DWF, Pugsley has also held down roles across Italy, like his head of banking position with Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Milan.
“In capital markets transactions, global clients increasingly seek out firms that can couple international corporate finance and US securities expertise, in order to access US investors and to navigate the ever-increasing regulatory environment in the financial services sector,” Pugsley said.
“I am therefore delighted to join the firm’s London office at a time of growth across the finance and corporate practices and to be part of a truly collaborative environment with my securities colleagues in the firm’s US offices.”
Since opening a London office in 2016, Haynes Boone has more than doubled its partner headcount in the city in just five years.
Haynes Boone partner Matthew Fry, co-chair of the firm’s capital markets and securities practice group, said: “We are thrilled to add a lawyer of Martin’s calibre and experience in London and in other global markets.
“He greatly bolsters our corporate finance and securities capabilities at a time of robust growth and momentum for the firm, and for capital markets worldwide.”