Carl Johan Stackell (pictured) has moved within Nordea, relinquishing the post of head of sales and distribution to take up the role of head of Swedish private banking and private banking e-branch. Stackell's new position, in Stockholm, will include responsibility for collaboration within the markets division and related matters, with the appointment taking effect yesterday (January 15). Stackell joined Nordea as a lawyer in structured derivatives, moving to equity and fund-linked derivatives, combining structuring and institutional sales, before becoming a chief sales manager, responsible for private banking distribution. He was later made head of the sale and distribution of all investment products in Sweden, and a member of the global structured derivatives and distribution management board.
The change marks the end of a turbulent year at Nordea, starting on January 2, 2017 with an internal reorganisation after the merger of the bank's Danish, Finnish and Norwegian subsidiaries, which became branches of Nordea Bank AB, the Swedish parent company. 'This is a significant step forward in our business transformation,' said Casper von Koskull, chief executive officer of Nordea Group, in a press release. As part of the reorganisation, structured products have been divided, with distribution and advisory moved out of a markets division that continues to include structuring and issuance. Distribution was moved to the Investment Solutions and Advisory Centre (ISAC), a newly-established unit announced in April. 'Nordea is in the process of digital transformation, where we will develop and offer digital solutions,' said Anne Buchardt, head of savings and retirement at the bank, in a statement.
With the establishment of ISAC, savings and wealth was discontinued, with a number of personnel changes. Martin Gros Pedersen, head of investment products sales and distribution, left the Danish branch, moving to ATP, the state pension provider, where he is a senior portfolio manager of non-linear equities and credit investments.
Gros Pedersen was replaced by Stine Bøgh Carlsen, previously head of structured products in Luxembourg. The Danish branch also added Morten Emil Rasmussen as a senior sales manager. Rasmussen worked previously in Brussels at State Street, where he was responsible for Nordic institutional sales. But, after 10 months in the new role, Rasmussen left Nordea to become a director, structured solutions at Commerzbank in London, responsible for institutional solutions in risk premia, quantitative investment strategies, indices and solution sales.
Nordea's new Nordic ISAC team is responsible for the distribution of all public and private banking structured products. While structuring and issuance are still under markets, both units operate as "a cross-border team located in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm," according to an official at the bank. Distribution is conducted from the Danish branch under the lead of Stine Bøgh Carlsen, deputy head of investment product management, working with product managers Morten Melander and Soeren Hvid. Production is managed in Copenhagen by Peter Jensen, head of structuring, and Sara Bergmark, senior sales manager.
In early January, Frode Hagen, chief analyst, announced he was leaving the Norwegian branch to "seek new opportunities outside the organisation", according to sources. Hagen joined the bank from Garantum Fondkommission, were he was head of Oslo office, after starting his career as an adviser at Handelsbanken, selling capital-protected structured products. He moved to Terra Markets before joining Garantum.
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