The Board of Directors of National Futures Association (NFA) has elected Michael C Dawley, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs & Co, to serve a one-year term as Chairman. The Board also elected Maureen C. Downs, President, Rosenthal Collins Group LLC, to serve as Vice-Chairman. In addition, the Board elected the following individuals as public directors:   Andrea M Corcoran, Align International LLC; Ronald H Filler, New York Law School; Douglas E Harris, Promontory Financial Group LLC; Jim Marshall; Mary M McDonnell; McDonnell & Associates; Michael H Moskow, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs; Charles P Nastro; Ronald S Oppenheimer, Vitol, Inc.;

Bedell Cristin has strengthened its corporate and banking team through a senior appointment in Guernsey, with Ann Halliday, an experienced lawyer in the offshore market and a qualified banker, joining the firm as a senior associate. Halliday was most recently employed at a senior position at a large law firm in Guernsey and specialises in legal advice for the banking, funds and corporate sector. She entered the legal profession in 1995 and has worked both in-house and in general practice, focusing primarily on banking and corporate law. Prior to that, she had a career in financial services including a significant

Industry veteran Tom O’Mara (pictured) has joined the Advisory Board of electronic trading network AX Trading. O’Mara brings a breadth and depth of experience and expertise to AX. He began his career trading Convertible Securities at Lehman Brothers from 1986-1991, where he was part of the team that transformed its retail-based distribution desk into an institutional market maker and underwriter.    In 1991, O’Mara joined Credit Suisse First Boston and was a pivotal team member in the rebuilding of First Boston's convertible franchise. As part of the successful Equity Derivatives and Convertible Securities Unit's management team, O’Mara’s responsibilities grew from

SEI has appointed Brent Bell (pictured) as Head of Asset Management Distribution (AMD) in Asia. This appointment supports SEI's commitment to Asia and underscores ambitions to provide best-in-class solutions for Asia's investors. In this role, Bell will be responsible for developing and maintaining strategic relationships with large distribution partners, driving sales and revenue growth, and managing AMD's strategic sales plan in Asia. He will be based out of SEI's Hong Kong offices and report to Kevin Barr, Head of SEI's Investment Management Unit.   "Brent's expertise in asset management and previous work building out businesses in Asia makes him the

Kyc.com, a joint venture between Markit and Genpact has expanded its service to Hong Kong and Singapore. This roll out is in addition to jurisdictional coverage in the US, UK and Australia which launched in 2014. Standard Chartered, the UK headquartered bank with a large footprint in Asia, is supportive of kyc.com and in the process of joining the service. In addition, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and UBS are already signed up and will be using the service to support their due diligence in the region. Over 1,500 buyside firms and corporations, representing 37,000 legal entities are also using

Neuberger Berman has appointed David Rowe (pictured) to the role of Head of Marketing – EMEA, effective immediately. Rowe is responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategy to support Neuberger Berman’s growing EMEA business across all client channels, based in London.   Dik van Lomwel, Head of EMEA and Latin America, says: “We are excited about David’s addition to the firm at a time when communication with our clients is more important than ever. His deep understanding and experience of marketing across EMEA will play a key role in tailoring our capabilities to each diverse market and supporting our dedicated

Victory Park Capital (VPC), an investment firm focused on private middle market debt and equity investments, has appointed Upacala Mapatuna as chief investment officer. Upacala will bring more than 20 years of financial industry experience and over 15 years of investing experience to VPC. “We have known Upacala for many years and are thrilled that she has chosen to join VPC’s leadership team. She is well-respected in our industry with proven investment acumen that will position us for continued success,” said Richard Levy, CEO and founder of VPC. “Upacala will be able to contribute immediately and we view her joining us as a validation of our investment strategy.”   As chief investment officer, Upacala will sit on VPC’s investment and management committees

MUFG Investor Services, the global asset servicing arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, has appointed Mark Catalano (pictured) as Executive Director, Business Development. Catalano will be responsible for driving new client engagement in the Americas with MUFG Investor Services’ asset servicing solutions. These solutions include fund administration, middle-office outsourcing, custody, depository, trustee, fund of hedge fund financing, FX and wider banking services. He will report into John Sergides, Managing Director, Global Head of Business Development & Marketing.   Formerly Head of US Business Development at Atlas Fund Services, Catalano brings a wealth of experience in understanding the needs of alternative

Fund administration specialist Bedell has strengthened its presence in European markets by opening an office in Luxembourg to provide corporate, private equity/real estate and private wealth administration services. Luxembourg offers a platform of services and structuring opportunities to investors and managers with products including a wide range of special purpose vehicles. Bedell's expansion into the region is a natural extension of the organisation's multi-jurisdictional service capability.   Two directors have been appointed by Bedell to the new Luxembourg office management team. Anne-Catherine Grave, an economist and lawyer with over 15 years’ legal and financial services experience in Luxembourg and New