EUROPE - Standard Life Investments has appointed Mark Connolly, a former institutional sales executive at Deutsche Asset Management in the UK, as its new executive director for distribution and client service.

Connolly, 45, joins SLI’s board where he will co-ordinate SLI’s sales, marketing and business development activity on both the retail and institutional side.

Keith Skeoch, SLI chief executive, said that following a strong first quarter, in which the UK asset manager had net inflows of €2.05bn: “Mark’s appointment should ensure we maintain and indeed increase our ability to attract business from around the world.”

Connolly’s last job was at DeAM in the UK, where he served as head of institutional sales in Europe and Middle East for five months until last January 19.

Prior to joining DeAM, Connolly was head of institutional business for Rothschild Asset Management and Insight Investment Management. He has 25 years of experience in the asset management industry.

Connolly’s departure from DeAM coincided with that of Paul Manduca, who resigned as DeAM’s European chief executive amid a sweeping restructuring of the asset manager.

DeAM is now run from Frankfurt, with Axel Benkner as CEO. Benkner is second-in-command to Kevin Parker, board member at Deutsche Bank with responsibility for global asset management.

Parker was expected to decide the fate of DeAM in the UK – which has suffered the loss of tens of billions in outflows and several leading executives – sometime this month.

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