This week in new hires, Heidi Steiger added to U.S. Bank’s wealth management business; Landon Stone went to CAIS, which also promoted Lachlan Cobon; Raymond James welcomed Aaron Kessler, Jason Harkness and Todd Speece; and Ascent Investment Partners named Brian Tournier director of research.
Also, New York Life Retirement Plan Services named Patrick Murphy, Rachel Rice and Lynda Abend to new positions; the Million Dollar Round Table named India Ehioba executive director of the MDRT Foundation; and Eagle Asset Management welcomed Donald J. Pepin as director of institutional sales.
Heidi Steiger Expands U.S. Bank Wealth Management Business
The east coast expansion of U.S. Bank’s wealth management business serving high-net-worth individuals and families has been proceeding under Heidi Steiger’s management. She has added new staff in the Palm Beach, Fla. office, which she is also relocating to a larger and more convenient location. The company’s Private Client Reserve has had a long-time presence in Palm Beach and Naples, and recently established an office in New York City, where it has a corporate banking presence. Additional expansion plans include the Washington, D.C., to Boston corridor.
Steiger, with more than 30 years of financial industry experience, began her career at Fidelity in Boston. Among other positions, she has served as president of Worth Magazine and oversaw the flagship private client business of Neuberger Berman in New York.
CAIS Welcomes Stone as COO, General Counsel; Advances Cobon
CAIS, a New York-based financial technology company providing an independent alternative investment platform to the wealth management industry, announced Monday that Landon A. Stone has joined as chief operating officer and general counsel. He is responsible for legal, compliance and operational matters at CAIS, and will also serve as a member of CAIS Capital LLC, the firm's FINRA-registered broker-dealer.
Previously he was a director in Merrill Lynch's alternative investment origination and product management group. Prior to his tenure at Merrill Lynch, he represented hedge funds and private equity fund management companies as an attorney in Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP's investment funds practice.
The company also announced the promotion of Lachlan Cobon from managing director of finance and operations to chief financial officer. Prior to joining CAIS in 2010, Mr. Cobon was with Ernst & Young in New York and Sydney, where he was a member of the international tax services group covering alternative investments.
Raymond James Adds Kessler, Harkness and Speece
Raymond James announced Tuesday the hiring of Internet equity research analyst Aaron Kessler, Internet investment banker Jason Harkness and equity capital markets specialist Todd Speece. All are based in the firm’s San Francisco office.
Kessler joins Raymond James from ThinkEquity, where he was a senior research analyst and led coverage for public Internet companies. With 11 years of equity research experience, he also has worked for Kaufman Bros., Piper Jaffray & Co. and J.P. Morgan Chase.
Harkness comes from Pinnacle Ventures, a private venture capital fund, where he focused primarily on Internet, digital media, software and mobile investments. Prior to Pinnacle, he was with Thomas Weisel Partners’ technology investment banking team, where he focused on Internet, digital media, software and communications transactions. He began his career in Ernst & Young’s audit and advisory group.
Speece joins the firm from Piper Jaffray & Co. where he was a senior member of the private and public capital markets team for technology and clean technology. At Raymond James he will lead the firm’s capital raising efforts for technology and clean technology companies. Speece also previously worked at Norwest Equity Partners and Thomas Weisel Partners.
Ascent Investment Partners Appoints Brian Tournier Director of Research
Ascent Investment Partners announced on September 15 the appointment of Brian Tournier as the firm’s director of research. An industry veteran with approximately 20 years of experience in research and analysis, he joins Ascent from Stern Brothers & Co. in St. Louis. In his new role, he will lead credit research, monitoring and reviewing existing and prospective investments. He will also publish periodic research reports on market trends and credit developments.
Prior to joining Ascent, Tournier served as vice president, director of credit analysis for Stern Brothers & Co., where he managed all aspects of credit evaluation for the firm. Earlier in his career, he was vice president, group leader of municipal research for A.G. Edwards & Sons in St. Louis, Mo., where he managed the team responsible for analyzing credit quality, identifying market opportunities and publishing action-oriented research for retail and institutional clients.
New York Life Retirement Plan Services Advances Murphy, Rice, and Abend
Westwood, Mass.-based New York Life Retirement Plan Services announced on September 15 that it has appointed Patrick Murphy managing director and head of sales, Rachel Rice managing director and head of marketing and Lynda Abend managing director of product development. They report to CEO David Castellani.
Murphy, who led the firm's Northeast sales practice for most of the last eight years, replaces Mark Strazzeri and will now manage a team of 17 sales directors representing all product platforms. Chris Messina, formerly in small-plan 401(k) sales, will be moving to fill his Northeast sales role. Before joining New York Life, Murphy served in senior sales and client service positions at American Express, Putnam Investments and Diversified.
Rice, taking over for Deanna Garen, joined New York Life in 2010 as director of web strategy, managing the firm's e-platform strategy and solutions. Rice, who has more than 13 years in the financial services industry, was previously founder of Ringel Rice LLC, a strategy and web consulting firm, and spent more than a decade at Fidelity in marketing and channel management leadership positions. She also worked in a marketing role at Upromise.com and as a consultant with Mercer Management Consulting.
Abend has been with New York Life for nearly 13 years, with responsibility for product development at New York Life since April. Previously, she held consulting actuarial roles at Mercer and George Beram & Company (now DIA).
MDRT Appoints India Ehioba New Executive Director of Foundation
Ehioba will oversee the foundation’s administration, ensure the fulfillment of its strategic plan and create long-term fund development initiatives. Most recently, she held the position of chief development officer at Helping Hand Center, an organization that serves more than 500 adults and children with disabilities.
Eagle Asset Management Names Donald J. Pepin Director of Institutional Sales
Eagle Asset Management, Inc. announced Tuesday that it has hired Donald J. Pepin as director of institutional sales. Based in the firm’s St. Petersburg, Fla. home office, he will focus on strategic initiatives targeting domestic and international consultants as well as direct new business development.
Pepin has nearly 30 years of industry experience in areas including institutional sales and consultant relations. He previously held senior positions with DuPont Capital Management, Gartmore Global Partners and Pilgrim Baxter.