City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week?
City PM‘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.
Capital Group strengthens UK sales team
Investment firm Capital Group, which has £1.7 trillion assets under management, has expanded its UK financial intermediaries team this week by hiring a new managing director.
Based in the capital, Tri Huynh, will report to the head of financial intermediaries, Chris Miles.
“With his expertise in the UK market, Tri will be instrumental in ensuring that Capital Group’s investment capabilities are readily accessible to UK intermediaries and their clients,” Miles said.
Huynh joins the group with over 15 years of experience in intermediary sales and is set to strengthen relationships with its existing clients.
This latest hire follows that of John Griffiths in the newly created position of head of UK client Group and Allyson Foster as UK head of marketing which was announced earlier this year.
“This is a very exciting time for the firm, and I look forward to supporting financial intermediaries in helping their clients achieve their investment goals,” Huynh added.
Legal & General Capital hires sustainability head
Financial services group Legal & General Capital has appointed a new head of sustainability to its alternative asset platform this week, who is set to the firm 9 August.
With more focus on social, environment and governance (ESG) standards, incoming sustainability lead John Alker is set to work towards the group’s commitment to its net-zero carbon housing commitment.
Last year, Legal & General (LGC) pledged that it would make all of its new housing stock net-zero by 2030.
With over 15 years of experience in the sector, Alker joins the firm from the business-led not-for-profit UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) where he was director of policy and places after joining in 2007.
“John’s expertise makes him well placed to maximise the advantages within our housing and urban regeneration businesses in order to deliver on our ambitions for improved social and environmental outcomes,” CEO Kerrigan Procter said.
Procter added that “John will play a crucial role in ensuring that our sustainability commitments are delivered as well looking at further ways that our platform can help to transform climate change.”
Alker has also served as a board director for the World Green Building Council, and prior to the UKGBC, worked on sustainable homes and carbon trading for the environmental charity WWF-UK.
Once a researcher in the House of Commons, and in commercial public affairs, Alker currently sits on the board of the Quality of Life Foundation.
Alker said: “We face a series of related challenges from global to local, both environmental and societal. The places where we live and work and the communities we create are at the heart of this challenge
“I am delighted to be joining the great team at LGC, to support the sustainability ambitions of the business in this critical decade of action.”
Delancey boosts capital markets team with fresh director hire
UK-focused property investment and asset management advisory firm Delancey has hired a director this week to bolster its capital markets team.
Incoming director Kate Drew joins from Legal & General where she was responsible for doubling asset under management for the real estate debt platform.
Reporting directly to Delancey’s head of capital markets, Lorna Brown, Drew will be responsible for underwriting, sourcing and delivering debt strategies to support clients and mandates.
“Kate has strong experience in real estate debt with an impressive track record of sourcing and executing deals,” Brown said, adding that “we look forward to her joining the team and leveraging her experience as we continue to grow our real estate debt capabilities.”
Prior to Legal & General, Drew spent three and a half years at the Lloyds Banking Group as part of the commercial real estate team.
Kantar hires former LSE technology veteran
Last week, data insights and consulting company Kantar appointed a former London Stock Exchange (LSE) chief investment officer to its chief technology officer position.
Alex Cesar join’s Kantar’s newly created position as CTO, reporting to Deputy CEO Ian Griffiths.
Responsible for delivering the firm’s technology agenda, Cesar is set to use her experience as CIO of data and analytics at the LSE, where she led the tech teams.
“Kantar’s growth will be generated through using advanced technology, together with our in-depth data and analysis capabilities…In partnership with our product leaders, Alex will define and execute a path to that future, creating a step-change in how we use advanced analytics,” deputy CEO and CFO Ian Griffiths said.
After joining the LSE group through its acquisition of Refinitiv in January 2021, Cesar was previously chief technology officer at Refinitiv in 2019.
Cesar has also held a variety of technology leadership roles at Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and was included in the Innovate Finance ‘Women in Fintech Power list’ last year.
“The technology transformation at Kantar will be the work of a community; our clients, product owners and tech team. I am excited to lead that process,” Cesar said.