Barclays Boosting Advisor, Exec Force

Barclays Wealth said recently that it hired three executives from rival firms, including Donald Gershuny, formerly Bank of America-Merrill Lynch general counsel for global wealth management, who joined Barclays Wealth as general counsel for the Americas. Also Barclays Wealth has appointed David Lewis as managing director and head of banking for the Americas. Lewis was previously head of banking products for the Americas at UBS.

In October, the firm hired a regional manager for its Los Angeles operations, as well as 14 new advisors for branches in the Northeast and Southeast regions — with seven coming from Morgan Stanley and UBS. Barclays now has more than 250 advisors at its 14 branches in the Americas.

Southeast Region

The firm hired seven advisors, or investment representatives, for branches in Miami, Palm Beach, Fla.., and Atlanta, including three from Morgan Stanley and one from UBS. “We are delighted to welcome such seasoned professionals to Barclays Wealth,” said Steve Houston, who oversees the Americas branch offices and investment representative network in his role as head of wealth management for the Americas.

In Miami, Tony Esses joins as a director focused on the Latin American market. Previously, Esses worked at HSBC Private Bank for 24 years. In addition, Robert Sperber joins the Miami branch as a director from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, along with James Hafele, a team member who will remain in New York. Sperber also has worked for UBS and Oppenheimer.

In Palm Beach, Matthew Burton joins as a vice from JP Morgan.

Tom Pair joins Barclay’s Atlanta operations as a director from UBS, where he was a private wealth advisor. Prior to UBS, Pair was a vice president at Goldman Sachs in the private wealth management division. Also joining the Atlanta office is John Nicholas, who has been hired as a vice president from Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management.  Prior to Morgan Stanley, Nicholas worked for SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, AIG Europe, Wachovia Bank and Chemical Bank.

Forest Simmons joins the Atlanta branch as a vice president from BNY Mellon Wealth Management. He previously worked for JC Bradford, Wachovia and A.G. Edwards.

Northeast Region

In New York and Philadelphia, three teams were hired, including three advisors from UBS. “We are pleased to welcome these outstanding teams to Barclays Wealth,” said Houston, in a press release.
Advisors René Joliot, Edgar Ramirez and Romel Rodriguez have joined Barclays Wealth as investment representatives in New York from UBS International. Joliot joins as a director after four years at UBS, where he focused on Latin American and European clients. Ramirez also joins the firm as a director and has 18 years of experience in advising Latin American ultra-high-net-worth clients at UBS, JPMorgan, and Citigroup.

Rodriguez joins Barclays Wealth as a vice president with 11 years of wealth-management experience, including nine years at UBS; he started his career at Merrill Lynch in Florida. Also in New York, advisors Ron Willis and John-Paul Tomassetti have joined as directors and investment