Swift splits the world in two
Church: “time for new opportunities and challenges”
Swift has brought the management of its Americas, UK, Ireland and Nordics units under one head following the decision of Chris Church, chief executive of Swift Americas and global head of securities, to leave after seven years with the industry consortium.
Javier Pérez-Tasso, currently chief marketing officer at Swift, will assume Church’s existing responsibilities for the Americas, as well as for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics, currently led by Alain Raes. This will consolidate the regional split into two divisions: Americas, UK, Ireland and Nordics under Pérez-Tasso; and the Central Europe, Middle East & Africa and Asia Pacific units under Raes.
Swift says that “since most global accounts are located in London and New York, this will put these financial centres under a single executive”.
The new structure takes effect on 1 September. Church “will remain available until the end of the year to support the handover”. In his new role Pérez-Tasso will be based in New York and continue to report to Swift chief executive Gottfried Leibbrandt.
Church said: “I am particularly proud to have helped the Americas region and Swift deliver on our commitments, especially those related to the Swift 2015 strategy. However, with the transition to Swift 2020 and the exciting changes in the market landscape, now is the right time to make a change and move on to new opportunities and challenges.”
Swift is now looking for a replacement chief marketing officer and working to ensure “continuity in the leadership of securities”.
