Penelope Biggs, Gregg Behrens, Wilson Leech, Joyce St Clair will all have new job duties after the first of the year as part of Northern Trust’s announced senior management changes in London.
Biggs, who joined Northern Trust in 1996, takes up the newly created role of Head of Global Corporate & Institutional Services Sales, effective 1st January 2006. In this role, she will be responsible for directing Northern Trust’s institutional custody, fund administration and asset servicing sales efforts worldwide, and will continue to oversee marketing for Northern Trust’s international asset servicing business. She will remain based in London and will report to Rick Waddell, President of Corporate & Institutional Services.
Behrens becomes Head of Corporate & Institutional Services for Europe, Middle East & Africa, effective 1st January 2006. In this role, he will oversee business management and corporate governance activities relating to Northern Trust’s asset servicing group in the EMEA region. Behrens, who joined Northern Trust in 1974, will report to Steve Potter, Group Head of Northern Trust’s International Business Segment.
Leech, who joined Northern Trust in 2004, will become Head of Global Fund Services worldwide, a newly created position, effective 31st March 2006. In this role, he will lead the global development of Northern Trust’s rapidly growing business that caters to the custody, fund administration and related service needs of investment management organisations. He will have direct responsibility for all GFS business activities and will report to Steve Potter.
St Clair, who joined Northern Trust in 1992, will retain her current responsibilities for overseeing the Baring Financial Services Group integration, reporting to Tim Theriault, President of Northern Trust’s World Wide Operations and Technology group. Furthermore, effective 1st January 2006, she will add to her responsibilities by becoming Deputy Head of Northern Trust’s International Business Segment. In this capacity, she will take on broader responsibilities in terms of infrastructure development and strategic planning for the International business segment, working with Steve Potter.
Potter said, “As part of our long-term planning, and in light of recent growth, we have been actively reviewing our organisational infrastructure to ensure that we are well positioned to serve our clients, manage a larger, more complex business and maintain our growth momentum. These changes will enable us to more effectively exploit the synergies within and between our different business areas – asset servicing, asset management and wealth management – whilst allocating more senior resource to oversee the continued development and enhancement of our business processes and infrastructure.”
In a further move, Northern Trust will also expand its wealth management business in Europe with the appointment of Nick Ring to the newly created role of Head of Wealth Management, Europe, effective 1st January 2006. In this role, his responsibilities will include identifying how Northern Trust can best leverage its expertise, product array and infrastructure to further enhance the development of this part of its business in Europe. Ring, who joined Northern Trust Global Investments – Northern Trust’s asset management business – in 1999, will report dually to Steve Potter in London and to Steve Bell, Head of Northern Trust’s Wealth Management Group in Chicago.
Steve Bell said, “We have been serving a number of family office and ultra high net worth clients from London since 1992. Having recently obtained additional trust and private banking expertise and capabilities through our acquisition of the Baring’s Financial Services Group, we are putting in place a structure that will enable us to extend our services to meet the needs of the growing and evolving European market. The opportunity to establish a formal personal financial business outside of the U.S. is compelling and in line with strategy.”
The changes, which come into effect in 2006, are in line with long-term corporate plans to position the business for continued, managed expansion, Northern Trust said.