Grant Thornton UK loses Head of Tax, Withecombe, to Barclays Wealth

Barclays Wealth announced yesterday two senior appointments to its Wealth Advisory business. [private]Rob Withecombe has been named the new Head of Wealth Advisory, and Paul James will be joining as Head of Wealth Structuring.

Rob was previously a senior Partner and member of the management team at Grant Thornton, where he has performed a number of roles since joining in 1996.  Rob will be based in London and will join the Wealth Management Committee.

Paul was a Managing Director and Head of Global Wealth Structuring at Citibank, and brings great international experience.  Paul will manage the firm’s onshore and offshore wealth structuring activities and will be based in Jersey, reporting to Rob.

These strategically important appointments come at a time when the firm is looking to build its international capabilities in the Americas and India, and significantly expand its capabilities in the Middle East and Asia.

Bryan Dix, the current Head of Wealth Advisory, will be standing down, having agreed to step into the role for six months pending the appointment of a permanent replacement for Jeremy Arnold, who became a Senior Advisor in 2008.  Bryan will be remaining with Barclays Wealth in a limited client advisory capacity, as well as undertaking several non-executive positions on the firm’s behalf.

Commenting on the appointments, Thomas L. Kalaris, Chief Executive, Barclays Wealth, said:

“Rob and Paul bring significant experience to a part of the business that has shown considerable growth in recent years.  They will strengthen our existing Wealth Advisory management team, which we believe to be industry-leading.  The appointments accelerate our strategic goal of having Wealth Advisory at the centre of our solution proposition to clients.

“Thanks go to Bryan Dix for taking on this interim role.  I am pleased that he will be continuing to work with us and with our clients now that Rob has been named Head of Wealth Advisory.”[/private]