Cinnober has appointed Peter Lenardos as its new Group CFO. Lenardos has past experience in the financial sector as both an investment banker and ranked research analyst, with an international network in the institutional investment community and among global market infrastructure and asset management companies. The change in management takes place as current CFO Ninni Pramdell has announced her intentions to leave the company for other opportunities.   Since April this year, Lenardos has been active as a Senior Financial Advisor to Cinnober, and previously held the position as a Managing Director in the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) London

Martin Currie has appointed Julian Ide as its Head of Distribution and Strategy. Ide will have responsibility for further broadening and building Martin Currie’s global distribution capability across geographies and solutions.   Ide joins Martin Currie’s six-strong Executive team based in Edinburgh, and will work collaboratively with them to drive the company’s distribution ambitions.   This key strategic hire is the fourth for the business since the turn of the year and follows the appointment of Zehrid Osmani, who joined in May from BlackRock, as Head of the Global Long Term Unconstrained Team.   Ide brings over 25 years’ experience

UMB Fund Services (UMBFS) has hired three associates to join its business development team – Michelle Benner, Ana Burke and Jose Rincon who all join as vice presidents, business development. The trio will focus on new business development for UMBFS’ array of services for the asset management industry which include fund accounting, administration, tax, investor services, transfer agency, custody and distribution.     In addition, UMBFS has promoted Chanté Schultz to assistant vice president, business development. In her role, she will support the new business development efforts of the national sales team.   “We are committed to expanding our registered fund and alternative investment

Saxo Bank, a Fintech specialist focused on multi-asset trading and investment, has appointed Eric Krueger (pictured), to a newly established position as Global Head of Client Services, effective from 2 July 2018.  He will report directly to Damian Bunce, CCO of Saxo Bank A/S.   Krueger will play a lead role in managing and developing Saxo Bank’s client relationships and the infrastructure serving those clients. He assumes the overall responsibility to lead Saxo Bank’s global client services organisation to further strengthen Saxo Bank’s renowned client service.    Krueger joins Saxo Bank with 20 years of experience in the financial industry

Financial services and regulatory partner Arun Srivastava is to join the London office of law firm Paul Hastings from Baker McKenzie, where he is head of the Financial Services Regulatory Group. Srivastava will lead Paul Hastings’ London regulatory and fintech and payments practice.   “Arun is one of the leading financial regulatory lawyers in London and will enhance our capabilities across our finance, fintech and payments, funds and transactional practices,” says Seth Zachary, chair of Paul Hastings. “It is central to our growth strategy in London that we attract the finest lawyers in their specialisms, and Arun’s practice and pedigree

Gresham House, a specialist alternatives asset manager, has appointed Heather Fleming to the newly created role of Head of Institutional Business. Fleming has over 20 years’ experience in the institutional arena, largely focussed on working with pension funds. She spent over seven years at Fidelity International, latterly as the Group’s Head of Institutional Distribution for UK & Ireland. Prior to this, she spent eight years at Capital International where she was responsible for client relationships in the UK, Denmark, and Iceland. Fleming’s career has also included roles at Danish investment manager, BankInvest, and NatWest Investment Management/Gartmore.    Fleming has an in-depth understanding of institutional investor requirements and boasts a strong network of pension funds, including local authority and corporate schemes, and global investment consultants.   At Gresham House,

Columbia Threadneedle Investments has appointed Roman Gaiser to the role of Head of Portfolio Management, High Yield, EMEA. Based in London, Gaiser will report to Barrie Whitman, Head of High Yield, EMEA. Subject to regulatory approval, Gaiser (pictured), will manage a number of European High Yield portfolios, including the Threadneedle European High Yield Bond Fund.   Gaiser was previously Head of High Yield at Pictet Asset Management from 2011 where he built and led the high yield team, managing several European high yield funds including a short duration strategy. Prior to this he worked for Columbia Threadneedle (as Threadneedle Asset

Research Affiliates has appointed London Business School Professor Alex Edmans, PhD, as an advisor. In this role, Edmans will support research initiatives around social responsibility and governance. With research that cuts across executive compensation, governance, behavioural finance, corporate social responsibility, and investment strategies, Edmans’ work has been published in the American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and Journal of Economic Literature.   “I am delighted to join Research Affiliates and have the opportunity to contribute to its mission of bringing transformative insights and products to investors. While I hope to work on

Thalēs has appointed Peter Hutchison as Managing Director of Institutional Sales and Relationship Management. Hutchison joins Thalēs from NEX Group where he spent the last five years in various senior roles, most recently leading the Global Sales of the Futures Matching and Allocation platform to Asset Managers and FCMs. Before joining NEX Group, Hutchison was Head of Futures Clearing Sales and e-Commerce for RBS Securities Inc.   Hutchison has a proven track record in originating new business to buy and sell side customers, as well as expanding and managing these relationships. He will focus on delivering the Thalēs success story

Alternative investment management software and solutions provider eFront has appointed John Legrand as Managing Director and Senior Vice President Sales for the Asia Pacific region (APAC).  Legrand will directly lead the APAC sales team, coordinate the overall regional organisation, and represent eFront in the region. John comes to eFront with over 20 years of experience in the financial software industry across a variety of functions, from sales and business development to professional services, including over 8 years in the APAC region. Tarek Chouman, CEO at eFront, says: “I am delighted to have John taking lead of the APAC region for