This week’s overview of transfers, appointments, promotions and other career news includes updates from the Amundi Institute, the Green for Growth Fund (GGF), Partners Group, Citibank, and KPMG Luxembourg.
Guy Stear
Guy Stear (photo) has been appointed head of developed markets strategy at the Amundi Investment Institute, a Paris-based asset manager. In his new role, Stear will oversee the equity and fixed income developed markets strategists, providing market recommendations, analysis, and research to Amundi’s clients.
Stear joins Amundi from Société Générale, where he held various senior positions in strategy and research. Most recently, he served as head of fixed income research for Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking.
Prior to that, Stear was head of credit & emerging market research and head of Asia. He began his career as a fixed income strategist, holding various positions in London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Zurich at Thomson Financial and Credit Suisse.
Michael Marquardt
Michael Marquardt has been appointed to the executive team at Partners Group. Marquardt, a partner and head of business services, joined Partners Group in March 2024 from IQ-EQ, where he served as regional CEO for Asia.
Prior to joining Partners Group, Marquardt spent 17 years at BlackRock, where his last role was Asia-Pacific COO. His experience in the investment sector will be a valuable asset to Partners Group as he takes on the responsibility of overseeing the firm’s business services platform.
Swiss-based Partners Group, with around 1,800 professionals and approximately 150 billion dollars in assets under management, continues to build on its differentiated culture and operational approach to create market leaders across various investment programs and mandates.
Simon Gupta
Simon Gupta has been appointed as the chairperson of the board of directors for the Green for Growth Fund (GGF), a Luxembourg SFDR-9 fund. Gupta, in a Linkedin post, expressed his gratitude to the shareholders and fellow board members for their trust and confidence in him. He emphasised the collective effort needed to take the GGF to new heights.
Gupta outlined the next objectives for the GGF, which include growing the fund beyond a billion euro in assets under management, optimizing its impact, transforming GGF into an InScope-Fund, supporting Ukraine, and enabling better participation from private institutional investors.
The fund so far has successfully attracted investors such as ASN Bank, the German government, EBRD, European Commission, EIB, EIF, Fair Finance, FMO, GLS Bank, IFC, and the Development Bank of Austria.
KPMG Luxembourg
KPMG has announced the promotion of eight senior leaders. They will take up their new role as of the 1st of October 2024.
Benedikt Barz, Simon Denis, Rhenie de Vries, and Edouard Fort have been appointed as partners at KPMG. Barz, an audit partner in the bank/insurance team, brings over 11 years of experience in the financial services industry and aims to solidify KPMG’s reputation by delivering top-notch audit services. Denis, a tax partner in the alternative investments team, plans to leverage KPMG’s one-stop-shop approach to make the firm a leader in the private equity sector.
De Vries, specialising in commercial and industrial companies and IFRS topic analysis, aspires to be an authentic leader known for empathetic leadership and embracing diversity. Fort, a tax partner in the financial services tax department, focuses on enhancing client relationships, driving technology-based innovation, and fostering a collaborative culture.
Julien Ghys, Lana Khoury, Dieter Putzeys, and Jacques Bortuzzo have also taken on new roles at KPMG. Ghys, a tax partner with extensive experience in tax advisory services, aims to expand KPMG’s footprint in the real estate and private debt sectors. Khoury, a partner in advisory with over 20 years of experience in managing complex, international technology programs, focuses on innovation, client centricity, and continuous investment in new products and personnel upskilling.
Putzeys, an insurance expert and partner in advisory, covers the full spectrum of the sector and focuses on leading strategy, transformation, digitalization, and licensing projects. Bortuzzo, managing director in tax and head of China desk, aims to strengthen Luxembourg’s role as the leading financial centre for China in the EU.
James Morris
James Morris has been appointed head of Citigroup’s commercial bank for Britain. Morris will start on September 30 after a 25-year career at Barclays, where he most recently served as UK head of business and professional services for large corporate banking. He will report to Tasnim Ghiawadwala, head of Citi’s commercial bank, and Tiina Lee, UK cluster and banking head.
Investment Officer publishes an overview of key industry and Luxembourg appointments on Thursdays. Please share your announcement via email to editor@investmentofficer.lu.