Apex Group has expanded its US team with the addition of several new senior hires.
All seven hires will be based in the New York office to drive new business and strengthen the group’s local presence.
Apex has placed several senior staff in New York, including Fred Jacobs, chief revenue officer, who was appointed in April this year, and Joseph Holman, global head of allocators, announced last week.
Anthony Vitale, Devin Vasquez, Gerald Barbara and Ira Schnell, four other experienced sales professionals, have joined the US team.
According to Apex, intentional placement of seasoned industry professionals in the New York office demonstrates Apex’s commitment to raising its profile in the region and offering clients robust local experience supported by extensive cross-jurisdictional capabilities and access.
Vitale will be director of business development. Before joining Apex, Vitale served as a business development associate at investment software company SS&C Technologies.
Previously, he worked as a business development executive at Augentius Fund Administration.
Vasquez will be director of US private equity fund sales. Vasquez brings sales and client development experience to Apex.
He joins from Ipreo Private Capital Markets, a financial software and data analytics provider, where he held the title of client development associate.
Previously, Vasquez worked in sales development at iLEVEL Solutions, a cloud-based software provider, before the company was acquired by Ipreo.
Gerald Barbara has been hired as sales director. Prior to joining Apex, Barbara served as senior vice president and business development officer for alternative investments at US Bancorp Fund Services LLC.
Barbara has more than 20 years of experience in the space, with a focus on alternative investment administration and custody services. Barbara is also co-founder and officer of the Mid-Atlantic Hedge Fund Association.
Schnell has been hired as sales director. Schnell brings Apex global sales experience, having most recently worked at JNK Securities Corporation on the institutional sales team.
Previously, Schnell held the title of equity sales trader at Guggenheim Partners, a global investment and advisory financial services firm. He also worked as an institutional sales trader at Kaufman Brothers in New York.
Senior US team members integrated from the Deutsche Bank Alternative Fund Services acquisition are Georges Archibald, Melanie Cohen and Jason Sheller.
Georges Archibald will be head of Apex Americas. Archibald brings nearly 20 years of experience in the securities services space to Apex, and held numerous leadership roles at Goldman Sachs, UBS and J.P. Morgan before joining Deutsche Bank.
At Deutsche Bank, Archibald was director of alternative funds services sales, leading sales to hedge fund and fund of fund managers.
Melanie Cohen has been appointed as global head of private equity fund administration.
Cohen is an experienced business leader, holding management and directorship roles at Deloitte, NBC and J.P. Morgan over a 20 year period before joining Deutsche Bank.
Prior to joining the Apex team, Cohen held the role of global head of private equity real estate fund services at Deutsche Bank.
Jason Sheller has been appointed head of private equity sales for the Americas. Sheller was most recently head of sales for fund services in the Americas at Deutsche Bank, leading sales efforts on hedge funds, private equity funds and real estate funds.
Previously, Sheller worked at J.P. Morgan and HFS Investment Management.
Apex now has a strong presence across the Americas region with offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, New York, Santa Ana and San Francisco, in addition to Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Toronto and Uruguay.
Peter Hughes, founder and CEO of Apex, said: “We are really focusing on bolstering our US market presence, and our investment in this talented, experienced group of new team members marks an exciting and promising chapter for Apex in the region.”
He added: “The level of private equity knowledge these individuals bring is second to none, and as we continue to expand in the Americas it is paramount we offer managers unrivalled service delivered by the most knowledgeable people in the market.”
“Apex is now perfectly positioned to continue to expand locally and focus on tailored solutions for the US marketplace while continuing to thrive on the global fund administration stage.”
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