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For immediate release: Friday 28th September 2007 IMA appoints Guy Sears as Director, Wholesale The Investment Management Association (IMA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Guy Sears as its new Director, Wholesale. Guy was previously Deputy Chief Executive of APCIMS, the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers. IMA has re-organised responsibilities among its senior team following Sheila Nicoll's departure to the FSA. From 8th October Julie Patterson will become Director, Authorised Funds and Tax, in which capacity she will lead IMA's work on the Retail Distribution Review and other retail policy issues. Richard Saunders, Chief Executive, assumes oversight of international affairs, previously the responsibility of Sheila Nicoll. Richard Saunders commented: "I am very pleased to welcome Guy to the IMA to take charge of our important and extensive institutional agenda. His broad spread of abilities and experience make him an important addition to the team." Guy Sears said: "I have spent a good part of the last 3 years seeing members of the IMA team at work at the FSA, in Europe and in corporate governance forums. It does not take long to realise that their agendas are membership-led, their arguments evidence-based and their approach highly professional. Given that, joining the team was an easy decision and one I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to make." - ENDS - 1. The IMA is the trade body for the UK's £3,100 billion asset management industry. The money its members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs. Its role is to represent the industry and promote high standards. 2. Guy Sears graduated in Natural Sciences from Cambridge before qualifying as a solicitor. After a spell in private practice, Guy became Solicitor on the Record at the Securities and Investments Board running enforcement's civil litigation. Later as Head of Market Conduct at the SIB and FSA he worked on the Market Code and two EU Directives. Leaving FSA in 1998, Guy then freelanced, being part of the Edwards Review of the Crown Dependencies, bringing in Jersey's investment business law and acting as an Executive Director of a Ring-Dealing member of the London Metal Exchange. Guy was at APCIMS from 2004, leaving it as Deputy Chief Executive. He is a legal author in relation to financial market insolvency and MiFID. Guy chairs a large youth work charity and is involved in financial inclusion work in West London. For further information, please contact: |
