Cooper Wood & Associates, a specialist asset servicing consultancy, has hired Glen Townsend as an independent senior associate.
Previously, Townsend worked as a senior client director at Aberdeen Standard Investments in London and Luxembourg.
He has also held roles at State Street, Barclays Capital, and BNP Paribas Securities Services, among others.
Having worked in the industry for many years as both a supplier and buyer of services, Townsend says: “I have seen how firms become uncompetitive if they don’t understand the operational interdependency and commercial intricacies that surround asset servicing, and I am delighted to be able to share my experience with the Cooper Wood & Associates client base.”
Cooper Wood & Associates was launched in June 2020 by Rod Cooper and Tim Wood and specialises in asset servicing.
Both Wood and Cooper have a combined experience of over 50 years and have spent this period working at the epicentre of asset servicing, both as suppliers and clients.
Commenting on the new recruit, Wood says Townsend’s experience will “complement the depth and breadth of services that we offer”.
Last year, the firm added Mark Friend, former chief operating officer of Premier Asset Management, to the team. Wood explains that Friend and Townsend “make a compelling combination with their first-hand experience of working in the fund management industry”.
Cooper adds: “I have known Glen for many years since we worked together at BNP Paribas, and having the opportunity to engage directly with a former director of a top tier global fund manager, allows custodians and administrators to gain real insights as to their target market, and also assists their clients in understanding how to improve the commercial relationship.”
