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.
Pictet Wealth Management poaches Goldman Sachs veteran as new CEO
Pictet Wealth Management has appointed a Goldman Sachs veteran as its new CEO, following the departure of its long-standing lead Heinrich Adami.
Joining next week, Robert Suss will work alongside his predecessor until the end of the role’s transitional period in December, when Adami will retire.
Suss, who will report to the head of Pictet Wealth Management (PWM) Europe, Sven Holstenson, said: “I am thrilled to be joining the world-class team at Pictet, a company I have admired for many years. I am excited to help build on the amazing service it provides for its clients”.
The incoming boss will lead the London wealth management firm following 18 years with Goldman Sachs, where he was most recently managing director of head of private wealth management in its office in the capital.
While at the Wall Street heavyweight, Suss also held down senior positions such as head of UK and Ireland private wealth management and head of wealth management solutions.
Adami, who joined the London firm in 1997 as managing director and head of the private client office in the city, has overseen vast amounts of growth over the wealth management space in the UK’s capital.
The departing CEO said: “London has always been an important financial centre for the Group and more specifically, for private clients at PWM. We are delighted to welcome Robert Suss to successfully lead our teams and to provide the best service to our clients”.
Visa’s Currencycloud hires industry heavyweights for COO and CTO
Payments firm Currencycloud, which is soon to be owned by Visa, has confirmed two new senior hires this week who are set to join the firm’s Spitalfields office.
Mark Ledsham will join as the London firm’s new chief operations officer (COO), while Neil Drennan joins as its new chief technology officer (CTO).
The fresh hires follow Visa snapping up the London fintech company for £693m in late July, as the global banking giant looked to broaden its international payment products and revenues.
Previously CEO of money transfer and currency site XE.com, Ledsham is set to scale the company’s underlying compliance and payment infrastructure, as Currencycloud looks to bolster its growth.
Ledsham, who has also held senior positions at financial services giant Macquarie, said: “I’m joining Currencycloud at an incredibly exciting stage in its growth trajectory. This made for a compelling opportunity: to work alongside the best in the business, serving many of the most important fintech and financial services companies in the world.”
Drennan, who was most recently CTO at banking software firm 10X Future Technologies and has held down roles across BBC Worldwide, Amazon and Virgin Media, will help build and develop Currencycloud’s platform.
Currencycloud’s boss Mike Laven added: “Mark and Neil are top-quality talent and we’re extremely pleased to welcome them aboard. These new roles will allow the business to focus on key areas of development as we aim to continue our ambitious growth plans.”
Next bolsters board with SEGRO lead
British high street staple Next has announced this morning that a SEGRO lead will be joining the retail giant’s board from today onwards.
Joining as an independent non-executive director, Soumen Das is set to strengthen the board’s knowledge of UK property and capital markets.
The latest addition to the board follows the departure Francis Salway, who is also chairman of the property advisory group of Transport for London and stepped down from the position in May.
Das, currently chief financial officer of FTSE 100 UK and European real estate investment trust SEGRO, has more than eleven years of board experience with listed companies.
Prior to SEGRP, the incoming board member was previously an executive director of UBS within the investment bank.
Das is also set to become a member of the nomination, audit and remuneration committees.
Grant Thornton announces new UK head of transfer pricing
Financial adviser Grant Thornton has appointed a new UK head of transfer pricing this week in its bid to strengthen its tax practice.
In the new role, Kirsty Rockall is set to lead the strategy for Grant Thornton’s national transfer pricing team across the UK.
“Shifts in the geopolitical landscape have thrust transfer pricing into the limelight, with a greater focus on transparency, responsible tax and reputation, in addition to increasing compliance obligations as tax authorities compete for revenues on a global stage,” Rockall said.
“I’m thrilled to have started my role at Grant Thornton and to be working closely with the team to help our clients successfully navigate through those choppy tax waters.”
With over 20 years of experience in transfer pricing, both in the UK and globally, Rockall brings with her a wealth of experience across start-ups and FTSE 100 businesses.
The firm’s head of tax, Karen Campbell-Williams said: “This is an exciting time for our tax business as we invest in our people, grow our business and support our clients as they operate in increasingly complex environments both nationally and globally.
“Kirsty brings to the team her significant experience of designing and implementing transfer pricing policies for businesses as they grow, expand and develop their operations and international presence and I’m delighted to welcome her to Grant Thornton.”