Brunswick Group announces that Neal Wolin has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, based in Washington, D.C.
Susan Gilchrist, Brunswick’s Group CEO for the past six years, will take on the role of Chair, Global Clients. In addition, Helen James has been appointed Group Chief Operating Officer as Rob Pinker takes up the position of Chair, Emerging Markets.
Neal has been a Senior Counselor at Brunswick for the past three years advising some of the firm’s most significant clients. He was a senior official in both the Clinton and Obama administrations, most recently as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury and, in that position, Chief Operating Officer of the department working on a broad range of financial and economic crisis issues. Prior to this role, Neal served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the property and casualty insurance companies of The Hartford Financial Services Group, a $20bn Fortune 200 company.
He is joined by Helen James who has extensive boardroom, investor and corporate communications experience. Helen was Chief Executive Officer of Investis Limited, the international digital communications company, of which she was a Founding Director in 2000, and where she was responsible for leading the company’s strategy and growth. Prior to this, she served in senior positions at Paribas and HSBC in both Europe and the US.
Sir Alan Parker, Chairman, said: “I am delighted that Neal has agreed to take over as Brunswick’s CEO. The challenges facing our clients are more complex and varied than ever before, and Brunswick continues to evolve. Neal and Helen are ideally placed to lead us on the next stage of Brunswick’s journey.
I would like to thank Susan and Rob for their leadership of the firm. They have overseen a period of huge expansion and development at Brunswick. As two of the most senior advisors in our industry I am excited that our clients will get to see more of them.”
Neal Wolin said: “I am delighted to lead such an extraordinary global firm with talented and experienced advisors. The culture, the people and their commitment to client service and excellence make Brunswick a special firm.I would like to thank Susan for her leadership and for positioning Brunswick so incredibly well for the future. As the challenges facing our clients continue to increase, I look forward to leading the next phase of the firm’s modernization and growth. We will continue to accelerate our client capabilities, and operational and management strength so that we remain focused on delivering what our clients need, while at the same time strengthening the firm and maintaining its very special and collaborative culture.”
Susan Gilchrist said: “It has been an honor and a privilege to lead Brunswick over the past six years and I am thrilled to have Neal and Helen on board as we continue to grow. I’m excited to focus on the most important thing at Brunswick - our clients - deepening our understanding of their challenges, and using the range of expertise across the firm to solve them.”
About Neal Wolin
Neal Wolin was Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury from May 2009 until September 2013 – the longest serving in U.S. history – and Acting Secretary of the Treasury in January and February 2013. As Deputy Secretary, Neal served as the Treasury Department’s Chief Operating Officer and supervised all Treasury bureaus and domestic and international policy offices as well as its management, legal, public affairs and congressional affairs functions. He was a key architect of the Obama Administration's financial reform plan and played a critical role on international economic matters, working with finance ministries, central banks and major international financial institutions on economic growth, financial reforms and economic sanctions issues.
Prior to the Treasury, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of the property and casualty insurance companies of The Hartford Financial Services Group, a $20bn Fortune 200 company. He previously oversaw the company’s legal, government affairs, communications, marketing and tax functions.
His government experience also includes time as Deputy Assistant and Deputy Counsel to the President for Economic Policy in the Obama Administration and as General Counsel of the U.S. Treasury and member of the National Security Council staff at the White House in the Clinton Administration. Neal is a board partner at SocialCapital and an equity partner at Data Collective Venture Capital, both venture capital firms based in northern California. He is also a limited partner advisor to Nyca Partners, a venture capital and advisory firm focused on financial technology.
Neal is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a board member of the Atlantic Council and the Partnership for Public Service. He graduated from Yale with a B.A. in History and holds a Master of Science in Development Economics from the University of Oxford, as well as a J.D. from Yale Law School.
About Helen James
Helen was previously CEO of Investis, a leading digital communications company. Prior to Investis, Helen was Head of Pan-European Equity Sales at Paribas and began her career as an investment analyst at HSBC James Capel. Helen is a Non-Executive director of the Mercantile Investment Trust, managed by JP Morgan and the Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust, managed by Baillie Gifford.
About Brunswick Group
Brunswick Group LLP is an advisory firm specializing in critical issues and corporate relations. Founded in 1987, Brunswick is an organically grown, private partnership with over 1,000 people across 24 offices around the world.