Openwork's chief commercial officer Mike Morrow has joined the adviser trade body's board alongside managing director of Investec Ciaran Whelan.
The pair have begun their roles on the Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice association's board on February 1, bringing with them substantial experience of the wealth management and advice sectors.
Whelan is managing director of Investec plc and CEO of Investec Wealth and Investment (UK). He has held various senior positions globally within the Investec group over the past 30 years and currently sits on the Investec board as executive director.
Morrow (pictured) has held a variety of senior level wealth management roles at AXA, HSBC and Ascentric before joining Openwork as wealth director in June 2015. He is a member of the Openwork investment committee, the executive, and a number of Openwork boards, including 2Plan and Openwork Wealth Services.
Pimfa recently launched a campaign to reform the advice sector, aiming to open up professional advice to "all that want it" facilitated by an "an industry fit for the future".
Lord Deben, chairman of Pimfa, said: “I’m delighted to welcome both Ciaran and Mike to Pimfa’s board of directors and look forward to working with them.
“I have no doubt that their considerable experience and insights will help take Pimfa forward in a way that benefits our members and the profession overall.
“Ciaran and Mike’s experience will be invaluable in helping navigate a path that creates an industry that is fit for the future and benefits the financial and mental wellbeing of an ever-widening pool of consumers through the provision of professional advice for all.”
Whelan said: “This is a period of great change, not only in our industry but in society as a whole. Advances that many had thought would be some years away are taking place far more rapidly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly when it comes to digitisation within the industry.
“The transfer of wealth through the generations, the growth of ESG investing, how the industry is regulated and how we provide advice to a wider group of investors, are among just some of the issues that we need to tackle."
Morrow added: “The wealth management industry generally, and the advice profession specifically, needs to exert greater influence over how the market should develop at this critical juncture, harnessing the role of traditional advice and digital opportunity.
"PIimfa is the trade body best suited to creating that positive positioning through wide member engagement and consensus.”
