Bank wealth management career moves: 2 top execs leave BNY Mellon for regional banks

May 14, 2018 11:22 AM

At least 14 executives have accepted posts this year leading wealth management and related investment services groups at several financial institutions, including HSBC, PNC Bank and Wilmington Trust. Click through to find out who they are and what their new roles entail.

Executive moves

At least 14 executives have accepted posts this year leading wealth management and related investment services groups at several financial institutions, including HSBC, PNC Bank and Wilmington Trust. Click through to find out who they are and what their new roles entail.

Jacqueline Griffith Crowley, CIBC

Jacqueline Griffith Crowley joined CIBC as private wealth market leader in Minneapolis. She provides private banking services to private equity professionals as well as owners and executives of middle-market companies in Minnesota.

Prior to joining CIBC, Crowley was a private banker for City National Bank with special emphasis on investor real estate.

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John Handy, Commerce Trust Company

John Handy, the former president and COO of Commerce Trust Company, was promoted to president and CEO, replacing Ray Stranghoener, who has led Commerce Trust since 1999.

Prior to joining Commerce Bank in December 1999, Handy was the chief operating officer and a director of TIAA-CREF Trust Company.

Stephen Rayo, HSBC

Stephen Rayo, HSBC’s former head of financial crimes compliance in the U.S., was appointed chief administrative officer for its U.S. Retail Banking and Wealth Management Group. He reports to Pablo Sanchez, the group’s North America regional leader.

As chief administrative officer, Rayo will participate with senior management in the development of strategic and long-term operating plans for Retail Banking and Wealth Management and will coordinate, develop and implement strategy across its various businesses.

Prior to joining HSBC in 2014, Rayo spent nearly a decade at J.P. Morgan Chase, most recently as an executive director of anti-money laundering compliance.

Sarabjit “Ruby” Walia, HSBC

Sarabjit “Ruby” Walia joined HSBC as head of digital for its Retail Banking and Wealth Management Group. He is responsible for setting the strategy, operating model and performance standards for HSBC’s digital channels in the U.S. and Canada.

Walia is based in New York City and reports to Pablo Sanchez, the group’s North America regional leader.

Walia was previously an advisor to the CEO of Moven for five months and prior to that head of mobile and online banking at TD Bank for almost four years. In his position at TD Bank, Walia led a digital product team in executing a digitization strategy that included partnership deals with fintech start-ups, the relaunch of the TD mobile banking application in Canada and digital wallet initiatives in North America.

Don Heberle, PNC Bank

Don Heberle, the former leader of BNY Mellon’s wealth management businesses, joined PNC Bank to run the bank’s wealth group. He assumed the role from Alistair Jessiman, who had commanded both the wealth management and institutional asset management businesses.

Heberle parted ways with BNY Mellon at the end of March after he and the bank’s leadership mutually agreed to separate.

Read more:

PNC Bank snaps up BNY Mellon’s wealth chief

Mike Breedlove, Regions Bank

Mike Breedlove, an insurance executive at Regions Bank, was named executive vice president of the bank’s property and casualty operations. He is responsible for leading the company’s property and casualty strategy across the country through a network of offices throughout the Southeast, Texas and Indiana.

Breedlove will also continue in his role as regional executive for the southeast region of Regions Insurance. He joined the bank in 2012.

Regions Bank in April agreed to sell the insurance unit to BB&T for $300 million. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter.

The president and CEO of Regions Insurance and other insurance associates will join BB&T Insurance in senior leadership and other positions, BB&T said.

Read more:

Regions Bank’s divestiture of insurance business will not impact wealth clients, bank says

Julie Harmsen 2018

Eric Field, Umpqua Bank

Eric Field, the former national strategic accounts manager at Russell Investments, has joined Portland, Oregon-based Umpqua Bank as CEO of Umpqua Investments. He is responsible for growing revenue and market share as well as recruiting and developing Umpqua’s team of financial advisors.

Field succeeds Jeani Winterborne, who was named president and COO of Umpqua Investments.

While at Russell Investments, Field oversaw the firm’s largest retail clients and worked with regional sales teams throughout the country.

Charles Ng

James George, Union Bank

James George, a former corporate trust executive with Wells Fargo, joined Union Bank as a business development officer in the Transaction Banking’s Global Trust Services Division. He is responsible for serving the corporate trust and custody needs of clients and growing the business in southern California.

George was previously with Wells Fargo where he worked with the Corporate Trust and Middle Market Banking Divisions for 11 years.

Ann Ormond Hamilton, Union Bank

Ann Ormond Hamilton joined Union Bank as a fiduciary management executive in San Francisco. She is responsible for managing a team of specialists in trust and estate services, wealth planning and risk management.

Hamilton was previously with independent wealth management firm Pioneer Wealth Partners as a director of strategic alliances. She has held trust and estate planning positions at Citi Private Bank, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.

Barry Wellins, Union Bank

Barry Wellins, a former retail banking executive with First Financial Bank Texas, has joined Union Bank’s private banking team as regional director for San Diego. He manages a team of private bankers and is based in the San Diego corporate office.

While at First Financial Bank Texas, Wellins managed all retail banking functions, including call centers and First Financial Brokerage Services.

Kelly Thomson, U.S. Bank

Kelly Thomson, co-founder of investment advisory firm Magee Thomson Investment Partners, has joined U.S. Bank’s ultrahigh-net-worth wealth management unit as a regional managing director in La Jolla, California. He leads business activities in the Southern California region and manages a multi-disciplinary advisory team that serves wealthy families. He is also responsible for launching a new office in La Jolla.

While at Magee Thomson Investment Partners, Thomson oversaw for business development, investor relations and investment strategy.

Read more:

Ultrahigh-net-worth wealth unit of U.S. Bank expands into new region

Jill Lotenberg

Alvina Lo, Wilmington Trust

Alvina Lo, the former director and senior wealth planner for Citi Private Bank, has joined Wilmington Trust’s wealth advisory division as chief wealth strategist. She is responsible for managing a national team of strategists, financial planners and other professionals who advise high-net-worth individuals and families as well as foundations and endowments.

As the director for Citi Private Bank, Lo covered ultrahigh-net-worth and cross-border markets, a role she held for almost two years. Prior to that, she was a director at Credit Suisse.

Robert McKeon, Wilmington Trust

Robert McKeon, the former lead fiduciary officer at Capital One, has joined Wilmington Trust as head of Fiduciary Risk Management. His role is to confirm that Wilmington is meeting its fiduciary responsibilities both structurally, through policy, process and governance, and functionally, as a professional trustee.

While at Capital One, McKeon oversaw the fiduciary activities of the bank’s wealth and asset management division, which employed 55 individuals and had $4 billion in assets under administration.

Jill Lotenberg

Chris Mone, Wilmington Trust

Chris Mone, the former president of the Los Angeles region for BNY Mellon Wealth Management, joined Wilmington Trust as president of U.S. Markets. He is responsible for the strategic direction, leadership and growth of Wilmington’s high-net-worth wealth management business.

While at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Mone had overall leadership responsibility for the firm’s investment management, trust and private banking businesses serving the greater Los Angeles area and Utah.

Mone is based in New York City.