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International offshore law firm Harneys has expanded its litigation and insolvency department in the British Virgin Islands with the addition of three lawyers including one partner.
Global head of litigation Phillip Kite says the expansion will meet growing client demand fuelled in part by the opening of the BVI Commercial Court earlier this year.
Additions to the department are partner Kissock Laing (pictured) and associates Ian Mann and Marcia McFarlane. Laing joins the department after three years as head of the firm’s Anguilla office where his practice comprised civil litigation as well as corporate, commercial and conveyancing matters.
Mann
International law firm Maples and Calder has appointed Petrina Smyth in Dublin as head of tax.
Smyth (pictured) is a seasoned professional experienced in negotiating tax aspects of financial services matters, mergers and acquisitions and inward investment.
Nollaig Murphy, head of the finance group in the Dublin office, says: "We are pleased to welcome Petrina to the firm and look forward to working with her. Petrina’s appointment is a significant addition to our Dublin team as we continue to achieve our objective of building an experienced group of high calibre lawyers offering best-in-class legal advice for our clients. The expertise
HSBC Private Bank has appointed Chris Allen as managing director and head of HSBC Alternative Investments.
Allen currently head of real estate for HSBC Alternative Investments.
As of 1 January 2010 he will report locally to Nigel Webber, chief investment officer of HSBC Global Private Banking, and functionally to Peter Rigg, global head of HSBC Alternative Investment Group.
HSBC Alternative Investments is the dedicated unit responsible for hedge funds, institutional mandates and fund of funds for the HSBC group and real estate and private equity investment for HSBC Global Private Banking.
Allen joined HSBC Alternative Investments in 2007 to
Gavin St Pier, a leading figure in the fiduciary and professional services sector, has taken up the role of non-executive chairman at The Mercator Group.
St Pier (pictured right) will work with the Mercator board to develop and promote the independent Guernsey business of 30 years standing.
A chartered accountant, chartered tax adviser and barrister, St Pier was one of seven directors involved in the management buy out of Walbrook Group from Deloitte. He later became a director of Barclays Wealth after it acquired Walbrook.
He was previously a partner of KPMG and Deloitte, is a former chairman of the
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has appointed Lee Stern, previously a managing director at GSO Capital Partners, as a director of the firm responsible for originating and structuring mezzanine investments.
Based in New York, Stern joins KKR Asset Management.
Henry R. Kravis and George R. Roberts (pictured), co-founders of KKR, said: “With more than two decades of experience in mezzanine finance, private equity and investment banking, Lee is an excellent addition to our global mezzanine efforts. As we expand our strategy to invest across the capital structure – from senior debt to equity – his expertise will be extremely valuable.”
Mezzanine debt
Atrato Advisors, a provider of hedge fund portfolio research, advisory and risk management solutions, has appointed Hyacinth Chu, an 11-year veteran of the prime brokerage businesses of Morgan Stanley and UBS, as a managing director.
Chu will assume a dual role at Atrato, as she will direct the firm’s business development activities while also contributing to the firm’s research efforts, particularly on the operational due diligence side.
Chu’s hiring represents continued growth for Atrato, the hedge fund consulting boutique founded late last year by Brian Reich, former head of research at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management and Cantor Fitzgerald.
Atrato’s
Structured Portfolio Management, an asset management firm focusing on fixed income since 1998, has promoted Chris Sutter to head of marketing and investor relations.
In his new role, Sutter will lead SPM’s worldwide marketing efforts, with all members of the client management group reporting to him.
Sutter joined SPM in April, 2008 and will also retain his title of managing director. He had previously been responsible for client management of institutional clients in the US.
Senior members of the client management group reporting to Sutter include Alex de Calice, managing director of the EMEA region; Masahiro Watanabe, managing director of
Butterfield Fulcrum, an alternative fund administration company, has expanded its US business development team with the addition of Christine Egan.
Egan joins Bill Neville, Jim Gabriele, John Peterson and Bill Henderson under the leadership of T. Andrew Smith, global business development head.
Since joining in April 2009, Smith has quickly built a global sales team of seasoned professionals to meet the growing demand for transparency, independence and flexibility in the hedge fund sector. Under his leadership, Butterfield Fulcrum has opened a Chicago office, upgraded its US headquarters in New York City to accommodate further growth and attracted significant talent to
Brown Brothers Harriman, a provider of customised financial solutions, has named Keith Haberlin as head of securities lending in Europe and the Middle East.
Haberlin recently relocated to London from BBH Boston, where he has been part of the global securities lending team since March of 2008.
“The performance of BBH’s programme through the market turmoil and our traditional focus on intrinsic value lending is resonating extremely well in the current climate,” says Chris Donovan, head of global securities lending for BBH. "Keith’s relocation to London reflects our commitment to strengthening the management of our programme in the key regions
Impax Asset Management, an Aim listed investment manager focused on the environmental sector, has appointed John McDonald as head of sales and marketing.
McDonald was previously head of alternative sales and marketing at New Star Asset Management, which he joined in 2004.
He has 25 years of experience in financial markets, 17 years of which were spent in investment research analysis and sales, followed by eight years in the sales and marketing of alternative investments.
Ian Simm, chief executive officer of Impax Asset Management, says: "Impax has ambitious growth plans and we are delighted that John, with his impeccable
