Brooks Macdonald has announced the appointment of Karen Charlery as chief operating officer (COO) effective from 23 June.
She replaces Gavin Neilson, who has been interim COO since August 2024.
Charlery brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services sector and was most recently deputy COO and EMEA head of regulatory change at BlackRock.
Brooks Macdonald CEO Andrea Montague said: “I am delighted to welcome Karen to Brooks Macdonald and to my Executive Committee. Her record of success and leading operations and technology will be critical to Brooks Macdonald in the execution of our strategy to Reignite Growth.
“I want to thank Gavin for taking on the role of interim COO and for his valuable contributions during his time.”
At the end of March, Brooks Macdonald moved its listing from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) to the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
The company said this move is aimed at “broadening” the wealth manager’s shareholder base.
Brooks Macdonald has been listed on AIM since 2005. In January, it revealed plans to move from AIM to the LSE main market on the back of strong financial results.
In February, Brooks Macdonald completed the sale of its asset management business to Canaccord Genuity Wealth.
The completion follows the announcement of the sale on 12 September 2024.
Canaccord has paid £28m for Brooks Macdonald International (BMI), with up to £22.85m payable in cash two years post-completion, subject to certain criteria being met.
Brooks Macdonald said the money will enable the group to focus exclusively on the core UK business and enhance its ability to capitalise on the structural opportunities within the UK market, to grow organically and through targeted M&A.
As of 31 December 2024, BMI had £2.3bn of funds under management (FUM).
