The latest moves and appointments in wealth management for the UK, rest of Europe, Middle East and select international locations.

Amundi
European asset manager Amundi has made three new hires across its ESG and advocacy functions: Alice Sireyjol as deputy head of ESG development, Edouard Dubois as head of voting, and Hélène Champollion-Morel as head of advocacy.

Prior to joining Amundi, Sireyjol was a senior manager in the consulting firm EY in Paris, advising companies on how to reduce their environmental impact, rethink their supply chain and transform their business model to drive superior resilience and innovation. She was also a manager in the sustainable development team of PwC for six years where she led natural capital impact measurement projects. Before that, she was a research analyst at Trucost, the leading ESG data and intelligence firm.

Dubois has been made head of proxy voting within the ESG research, engagement and voting team. He was previously a partner in the consulting firm SquareWell Partners, and head of stewardship and engagement at ISS ESG, advising issuers and investors on their engagement practices. Prior to that, he was with BlackRock in San Francisco and later in London where he was in charge of voting and engagement for various European markets. He has also worked as a corporate governance analyst at ISS and at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

Champollion-Morel is joining Amundi from Mirova, the affiliate of Natixis Group dedicated to sustainable investing, which she joined in 2015, before being appointed head of communications in 2017. She joined Natixis CIB in 2011, where she spent four years working in the sectoral coverage analysis team. Prior to that, she worked for two years as a financial journalist with the Leaders League group from 2010 and began her career in 2007 at Deloitte Financial Advisory, as an analyst in the valuation and modelling team.

Amundi is a subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole group and listed on the stock exchange, managing more than €2.0 trillion of assets ($2.1 trillion).

Charles Russell Speechlys
Charles Russell Speechlys, an international law firm, has six new partners, starting from 1 May, after its latest round of promotions.

Based in London, the new partners include Cara Imbrailo and Mark White in UK real estate. Imbrailo will advise clients on a range of commercial real estate transactions whilst White will advise clients on the acquisition and disposal of commercial property interests.

Richard Flenley has been promoted to be a partner in UK real estate disputes, focusing on professional negligence disputes, including service charge disputes and lease renewals, leading the firm’s compulsory purchase team. Whilst Charlie Ring, a new partner in UK financial services and funds, will advise investment and wealth managers, private wealth individuals, and owner-managed businesses.

Alice Martin has been promoted to be a partner in Swiss tax trusts and succession, giving advice on cross-border succession planning combined with UK tax advice, focusing on clients in the arts, media and digital industries.

These promotions follow the recent promotion of Raphaël Bagdassarian as a partner in corporate tax in France, working on tax restructuring, private equity, venture capital investment, and the taxation of executives, managers, and investment fund managers. Katie Talbot was also recently promoted to legal director in UK tax trusts and succession, from senior associate in private client, advising estate owners, high net worth individuals, families and trustees on complex tax, trust, and succession issues.

“These promotions are strongly supportive of the firm’s strategy both in the UK and internationally, and I look forward to the contribution they will each make to this in the years ahead,” Bart Peerless, senior partner at the firm said.

Charles Russell Speechlys lawyers are based in 11 locations across the UK, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, providing expertise in private wealth and family businesses. The promotions come after the firm showed strong financial results for the financial year ending 5 April 2021.

Kingsley Napley LLP
UK-based law firm Kingsley Napley LLP has announced four new partners as part of its annual promotions round.

This brings the total number of partners at the firm to an all-time high of 72, of whom 38 (52 per cent) are female, the group said in a statement. Starting from 1 May 2022, the new partners include Jessica Clay in the regulatory team, specialising in legal services regulation. Lauren Evans has been promoted to be a partner in the family and divorce team, specialising in private family law work, including cross-border matrimonial disputes, complex financial arrangements arising from divorce, children's issues, and pre- and postnuptial agreements. 

Laura Sylvester will meanwhile be a partner in the medical negligence and personal injury team, providing expertise in catastrophic brain injury claims, especially those relating to children with cerebral palsy. Kim Vowden will join the immigration team as a new partner, offering experience in advising employers in the finance, media and technology sectors.  

Linda Woolley, managing partner of Kingsley Napley, said: “Their promotions are thoroughly well-deserved and are a key element of Kingsley Napley’s growth strategy.”

JTC
JTC, the global professional services provider, has made Elize Botha managing director of its South African office.   

Botha will be responsible for overseeing JTC’s Cape Town office which employs over 180 professionals to provide support services to institutional clients in the global asset management industry. The office was established in 2007 and became part of the JTC Group in 2015.

She brings more than 25 years’ experience in financial services to the role, most recently as managing director of Old Mutual Unit Trusts where she was responsible for strategic, commercial and operational aspects of the business.

Previously, she led the Global Distribution and Marketing function for Ashburton Investments across local and international channels including the UK and Channel Islands. She has also worked at some of the largest financial institutions in South Africa including Alexander Forbes and Momentum.

Jonathan Jennings, group head of Institutional Client Services at JTC, said: “As a global professional services provider, our team need to have the knowledge and expertise to deliver exceptional standards at all times and Elize is clearly an excellent addition.”

“JTC already has an excellent reputation for client service and I am keen to ensure this continues and develops to add additional value throughout the institutional offering,” Botha added.

JTC is a publicly listed, global professional services business with expertise in fund, corporate and private client services.