BNP Paribas bolsters securities services team with senior hires

BNP Paribas has bolstered its securities services team with the appointments of Simon Olenka and Patrick Hayes.

Olenka, who joined BNP Paribas in 2018 as head of UK client delivery, has been promoted to regional head of the UK and the Middle East, effective 1 April.

In his new role, Olenka will lead the securities services teams in the UK and the Middle East and will be responsible for helping the bank meet its growth targets in markets including IT, operations and change management.

Based in London, Olenka will report to Anne Marie Verstraete, BNP Paribas UK country head, and Alessandro Gioffreda, global head of territory management at BNP Paribas Securities Services.

Olenka succeeds Patrick Hayes, who has been appointed as global head of alternative investors.

Hayes joined BNP Paribas as regional head in 2016 after a 25-year career at State Street, where he served in roles including head of State Street global markets operations.

In his new role, Hayes will be based in Dublin and will report to Philippe Benoit, global head of strategic business development and transformation.

This announcement follows shortly after BNP Paribas’ Securities Services made new appointments in January including Gioffreda’s appointment as head of territory management, effective 1 April 2020.

Meanwhile, Alvaro Camuñas, the current global head of sales and relationship management for Securities Service, was appointed to head of client development, with responsibility for sales, relationship management, and client services, also effective 1 April 2020.

Commenting on the most recent appointments, Gioffreda said: “Simon Olenka brings extensive operational and client knowledge to the role, putting us in a strong position to continue to grow our business in the UK - which is a key location for BNP Paribas - and in the Middle East.”

Benoit said: “Patrick Hayes takes the helm of our fast-growing alternative investors’ client line at an exciting time for the business. We have been steadily investing in this space in recent years, bolstering our offering to private capital and hedge fund clients.”