Based in Singapore, he will drive the firm’s strategic growth and development strategy across Asia, further reinforcing the bank’s presence in the region.

He will report to Isabelle Jacob-Nebout, head of wealth management, CA Indosuez (Switzerland) SA, and succeeds Omar Shokur who will pursue professional opportunities outside of the Crédit Agricole Group after more than two decades with the group.

He brings close to 30 years of experience gained in Europe and Asia across the financial services industry, of which more than 20 years were in Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB).

His most recent role before being appointed Asia CEO of Indosuez was Head of International Trade and Transaction Banking for Asia-Pacific at Crédit Agricole CIB. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive Officer for Crédit Agricole CIB Taipei Branch.

Laurent began his career in 1998 working for the Equity Brokerage Division of Société Générale in Japan before joining Crédit Agricole Group in 2002. He joined the Credit Derivatives teams in London in 2007, and later the Asia Loan Syndication team in Hong Kong in 2012.

Isabelle Jacob-Nebout said: “We are delighted to welcome Laurent into this role. Laurent brings close to 30 years of experience in financial services including the past two decades at Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, predominantly in Asia.

“He has a deep understanding of the dynamic region and is well-positioned to continue building on Indosuez’s growth in these key markets. We are confident that his leadership will further solidify our position as a trusted partner to our clients in Asia.”

She further said: “I would like to thank Omar for his leadership in the past few years. He steered Indosuez through the unprecedented challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring the continuity of our business and the safety of our clients and teams while laying the foundation for growth that continues to benefit the firm today.”

His extensive experience in the rapidly growing financial markets of Asia including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan reflects Indosuez’s continued focus on strengthening its presence in Asia and delivering exceptional, tailored wealth management solutions to their clients.

Proutière said: “I am honoured to take on this role and look forward to working closely together with our bankers and colleagues across Asia to further build upon the successes we’ve achieved. With Indosuez’ unique position as a boutique bank within the world’s 9th largest banking group, I am excited to work with my new team to continue to deliver the bespoke, personalised service we are known for, always putting our clients at the heart of everything we do.”

The scheme has hired Martyn Beauchamp as its interim chief executive.

Beauchamp has worked as senior executive over the past 20 years.

He was recommended by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and will also join the FSCS Board as an executive director.

Quilter

The multi-asset investment provider has named Lindsay James as investment strategist.

James has 20 years’ experience in financial services, starting as assistant fund manager at F&C Asset Management before becoming an equity research analyst.

Most recently, James was investment director at Quilter Investors.

Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management UK (CGWM UK) and Punter Southall Wealth (PSW)

Both wealth management firms have appointed Richard Champion and Thomas Becket as co-chief investment officers.

Champion has been with CGWM UK since 2015 as deputy chief investment officer. He is a specialist in direct equities.

Becket joined when CGWM UK acquired PSW in 2022, where he was chief investment officer. He is experienced in fixed income and alternatives.

Matthews

The management firm has recruited Sean Taylor as chief investment officer.

Taylor has over 25 years’ experience in the investment management industry, having joined from DWS Group where he was chief investment officer APAC and head of emerging markets.

He will lead the firm’s San Francisco and Hong Kong based investment teams.

Broadstone

The consultancy firm has appointed Richard Pringle as principle consultant at Broadstone’s Employee Benefits Consulting (EBC) in the health and protection team.

Pringle brings 20 years’ experience in risk, health and wellbeing consulting.

Prior to joining he worked for Mercer Marsh Benefits, Alexander Forbes Healthcare and Aegon.

Old Mill

The firm has appointed Hugh Johnson to the wealth management team as global head of operations.

Hugh joins from Fry Group and as an experienced financial planner and digital advice specialist, he will expand and develop the firm’s wealth management and financial planning offering.

Castlefield

The investment management business has hired Callum Wells as co-manager of the sustainable portfolio funds and platforms models.

Callum brings five years’ experience at Brown Advisory as associate portfolio manager, following five years at Redmayne-Bentley as stockbroker and compliance officer.

Oak Group

The company has appointed Kim Sgarlata as group chief executive.

Sgarlata brings over 20 years’ experience in international financial services.

Dominion Capital Strategies

The fund manager has promoted Donald Young to sales director for EMEA.

Having joined the company in 2018, Young brings 20 years’ experience in the financial services sector and has expertise in economics.

Attivo

The financial planning business has hired Jonny Wilkinson, former England World Cup hero as lifestyle ambassador.

Using his experience at the England Rugby squad, Wilkinson will be coaching the Attivo lifestyle financial planning team to have open conversations with clients and contribute to the Attivo Life Magazine.

Indosuez Wealth Management

The capital market company has announced Chrystèle Dagras as head of risk management and permanent control.

Dagras joins from Crédit Agricole CIB as head of risk ,corporate and specialised lending, real estate, transport, leverage and telecoms for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

She has previously worked at Crédit du Nord in the corporate credit, financial engineering, and corporate center functions.

Beyond FS

The specialist consultancy has hired llai Schechter as principal.

Schechter is an ex-Capco consultant and is experienced in management consulting, project management, and technical compliance.

The bank has appointed Jane Niles as chief executive.

She is taking over the role from Brendan Stewart, who is stepping down after five years.

Niles joined Investec in 2016, initially leading the corporate and family office segment, and more recently, acting as head of offshore real estate and head of lending.

Irwin Mitchell

The law firm and advice group has named Craig Marshall as group chief executive.

This is following the death of the firm’s former chief executive Andrew Tucker.

Marshall joined Irwin Mitchell in 2007 when the firm merged with Scottish law firm Golds before being appointed chief executive of Irwin Mitchell’s personal legal services division from 2014 to April 2021.

He then became group chief operating officer in 2021.

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM)

The asset manager has named Pauline Plunkett as chief executive of its European operation and managing director of Ireland, subject to regulatory and board approvals.

She was previously head of insurance clients, having joined LGIM in March 2014.

Brown Shipley

The Quintet Private Bank subsidiary has hired Andrew Kyle as chief financial officer, subject to regulatory approval.

Kyle, who served as chief financial officer of Coutts for the previous five years, will join Brown Shipley in October 2023 as chief financial officer designate, working alongside the firm’s outgoing chief financial officer Andrew Curran, who will retire in March 2024 after serving at the UK private bank for over 20 years.

Standard Chartered

Mike Tan has joined the bank as global head of wealth planning and family advisory.

He was most recently part of the wealth advisory team at JP Morgan NA, Singapore.

Lombard Odier

The wealth manager has appointed Alexandre Meyer as managing partner.

Meyer joined Lombard Odier 25 years ago.

Annika Falkengren, who joined the group in 2017, has decided to step down as managing partner at the end of 2023.

MKC Wealth

The independent wealth management firm has appointed Rick Eling as managing director of its authorised investment management business MKC Investment Management.

He joins from Quilter, where he was latterly head of adviser propositions and spent four years as investment director of its advice network Quilter Financial Planning.

Alexander Peter Wealth Management

Claire Taylor has joined the advice firm as a transatlantic financial planner.

She was previously at Forth Capital, where she was an international planner.

Indosuez Wealth Management

The global wealth management arm of Crédit Agricole Group has named Emile Salawi as head of the Middle East.

He joined Indosuez Wealth Management in 2020 as head of key clients and family offices of CA Indosuez (Switzerland) SA.

EFG

The company has named Francesca Speroni as team leader and deputy head of private banking of EFG Private Bank, the UK private banking arm of EFG International.

Speroni has joined EFG from Credit Suisse, where she was a managing director and served as team leader UK for more than five years.

Earlier this year, EFG also hired Inbal Shiloach as client relationship officer focusing on Israeli ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI).

She joined the bank from Julius Baer, where she spent 12 years and most recently served as head of Israel out of London.

Vivian Yuen also joined EFG in London earlier this year as client relationship officer with responsibility for UHNWIs based in Hong Kong and Greater China.

She previously worked for Julius Baer Hong Kong, where she was most recently an associate manager serving private clients booked in Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland.

HSBC

The UK private banking arm has recruited a team of relationship managers in its London office.

Phil Aleppo will lead the team and joins from Credit Suisse where he led a team of ultra-high net worth and high net worth bankers in the UK domestic team.

Joining the team are Henri Etchegoyen, Brad Werner, Usmaan Aziz and Oliver Beasant.

Elsewhere, Lok Yim has been named as regional head of global private banking, Asia Pacific.

Yim joins HSBC on a designate basis on 1 November and commences formally on 1 January 2024, subject to regulatory approval.

Yim succeeds Siew Meng Tan, who is retiring after an almost forty-year career in banking.

He joins HSBC from Deutsche Bank where he spent 16 years, most recently as chief executive for Hong Kong SAR.

Belasko

The financial services provider has appointed Alex Le Prevost as associate director.

Le Prevost was previously at Suntera Global, where he was a senior trust manager.

UBS

Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi will join the firm’s chief investment office as head chief investment officer for equities, effective 23 October 2023.

Hoffmann-Burchardi joins from Tudor Investment Corporation, where she has been a partner and senior portfolio manager since 2009.

Holborn Assets

The Dubai-based firm is launching a major expansion of its residency and citizenship investment (RCBI) division.

It has appointed Pablo Ostrick to be the managing director of its RCBI unit, known as Holborn Pass.

In his new role, Ostrick will hire 25 advisers this year to work alongside the firm’s 250 wealth managers.

He was previously general manager of Holborn Pass.

Macquarie Asset Management

Henry Middleton has joined the firm as managing director and head of wealth distribution for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

He was previously at Barings, where he most recently led its US institutional and global wealth distribution activities.

The proposed acquisition is being carried out in partnership with the CLdN group, Degroof Petercam’s core shareholder, which will retain a stake of around 20%.

Degroof Petercam has client assets totalling €71bn (£61bn, $78bn). The group has operations in Belgium, Luxembourg and France in private banking, and internationally in asset management, investment banking and asset services.

The transaction is expected to be completed in 2024.

Next steps

Credit Agricole subsidiary Indosuez Wealth Management will work closely with Degroof Petercam teams to “facilitate the transaction for the benefit of clients and employees”, the firms said in a statement.

Completion of the agreement between CA Indosuez Wealth (Europe) and Degroof Petercam is subject to the approval from the relevant regulatory and competition authorities. As part of this transaction, a long-term partnership agreement will be signed with CLdN.

Following the acquisition of a majority stake, a voluntary tender offer will be launched with Degroof Petercam’s minority shareholders, with the intention for CA Indosuez Wealth (Europe) to acquire the remaining capital on the same terms as those for the acquisition of the majority stake.

Jacques Prost, chief executive of Indosuez Wealth Management, said: “We are delighted to have reached this agreement with the shareholders of Degroof Petercam, a long-standing leader in wealth management. This proposed alliance will be an important step in our development in Europe, in line with our strategic plan, and will make Belgium our second domestic market. We look forward to working with the Degroof Petercam team.”

The insurance-based wealth solutions provider has bolstered its Singapore operation with the hires of Michelle Tan as head of brokerage and Genevieve Chan as head of operations and underwriting.

Tan joins Utmost International from Lombard International.

Over the last decade, Chan has helped build the high net worth operations and underwriting infrastructure at Singapore Life and HSBC Insurance.

Manulife Investment Management

The global wealth and asset management brand of Manulife has named Andrew Arnott as global head of retail.

Arnott has held multiple leadership roles at Manulife Investment Management, including head of wealth and asset management, US and Europe, and president and chief executive, John Hancock Investment Management, the US retail brand of Manulife Investment Management.

LGT Wealth Management

The UK wealth manager has appointed William James as a portfolio manager within the intermediary investment services team (IIS).

He joins from Square Mile Investment Consulting & Research, where he was an investment manager.

Tyndall Investment Management

The UK fund manager has hired James Bowes-Lyon as an investment manager within its private client practice.

He joins from Investec Wealth & Investment, where he was an investment manager.

Fidelity International

The investment firm has named Maria Abbonizio as head of Hong Kong.

Abbonizio will take on the role alongside her current position of global chief administrative officer for investment management. She joined Fidelity in 2004 and spent the majority of her 18 years with the firm based in Hong Kong.

Indosuez Wealth Management

The wealth management arm of Credit Agricole has hired Selwyn Au-Yeung as market head, based in Hong Kong.

Au-Yeung was previously managing director and team head at Bank J Safra Sarasin for the past year and a half.

UBP

The banking group has recruited five relationship managers in Hong Kong including a team head.

Andrew Chin joined on 11 April as team head for north Asia. Chin was most recently desk head for ultra-high net worth investors in Hong Kong at HSBC Global Private Banking.

In addition, UBP has also hired Cindy Tam, Yvonne Yan, Carolina Lam, and Leo Chow as either senior relationship managers or relationship managers.

Tam has joined from Julius Baer, Yan from Credit Suisse, Lam from J Safra Sarasin and Chow from Deutsche Bank.

Close Brothers Asset Management (CBAM)

The advice firm has named Ed Mawle as senior investment director.

Mawle has 25 years of experience in the asset and wealth management industry, and spent almost 20 years at Brewin Dolphin, before moving to Investec Wealth & Investment in 2017.

Mirabaud & Cie (Europe)

Rémy Saccone has joined the firm’s wealth management division as head of the Luxembourg independent asset management team (IAM).

He joins the company following spells at Orcadia Asset Management and Pictet Group.

Hampden & Co

The UK group has appointed Mark Plummer as head of private banking for its London office.

Plummer began his career at Coutts, spending 12 years there before spending a further 13 years at C Hoare & Co. He joined Barclays Wealth in 2008 as head of banking and credit, before moving to Handelsbanken in 2016 to set up and run its office in Mayfair.

Charles Russell Speechlys

The law firm has promoted Katie Talbot and Robert Avis to partner.

Talbot focuses on tax, trusts and succession and is based in Cheltenham. Avis works on private wealth disputes based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Druces

The law firm has named Matt Duncan as head of private wealth.

Duncan, who is a partner at the firm, succeeds Robert Macro.

Bedell Cristin

Sevyn Kalsi has been named as a partner in the law firm’s international private client team.

He joins the firm from Walkers, where he was a partner.

The Insurance Institute of Aberdeen (IIA)

The branch of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has appointed Katherine Harvey as president.

She succeeds Lloyd Davies as president, having previously served as deputy president of the professional body for just over one year.

Davies brings a wealth of industry experience as a financial planner and operations director at Aberdeen-based Russell Gibson Financial Management, which became a part of the independent nationwide financial advice and fund management group One Four Nine in August 2022.