Evelyn Partners’ CEO Paul Geddes will step down from his role after a three-year tenure, it has been confirmed today (1 June), following NatWest’s acquisition of the firm which is expected to complete this summer.
Elsewhere, Evelyn Partners’ CFO Alex Gersh will also step down from his role. Chris Kenny, current chief investment management officer at the firm, will become the CEO of Evelyn Partners. Din Mustaffa, deputy CFO of Evelyn Partners, will become the CFO.
Incoming CEO Kenny will report to Emma Crystal, CEO of NatWest’s Private Banking and Wealth Management division.
NatWest’s acquisition of Evelyn Partners was announced in February this year, with the firm having been purchased for £2.7bn while launching a £750m share buyback scheme.
Outgoing CEO Geddes said: “As we work towards completion of this major transaction, plans are well underway to bring our organisation together with NatWest PBWM to create the UK’s leading private banking and wealth management business.
“I would like to congratulate both Chris and Din on their prospective new roles. Chris’s extensive industry experience, long tenure at the firm and his client-focus make him the right leader for the business as it enters the next phase of integration and growth.”
He added: “It has been an absolute privilege to lead Evelyn Partners over the past three years, and I know I am leaving the business in excellent hands where it will be well positioned to seize the significant opportunities ahead.”
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Kenny said he is “incredibly proud to be taking on the role of CEO of Evelyn Partners at such an important moment for the firm”.
“Having spent nearly 29 years here – both at Evelyn Partners and previously at Smith & Williamson – this is a business I care deeply about, along with the clients we serve and the people who make it what it is.
“Becoming part of NatWest gives us the opportunity to build something truly distinctive in the UK market, bringing together Evelyn Partners’ strengths in investment management and financial planning with NatWest’s scale, heritage, and private banking capabilities.”
Chris Grigg, chair of Evelyn Partners, thanked Geddes and Gersh for their “outstanding service to the business”, which he said has “culminated in this landmark transaction in the UK wealth management sector”.
“I wish Paul and Alex every success for the future and congratulate Chris and Din on their new roles.”
