Financial services specialists Catalyst Development Ltd and global consulting firm Sionic Advisors have announced that Craig Sher is to be Chief Executive Officer of the combined business and that, with effect from 18th June 2019, the merged firm will rebrand as ‘Sionic’.
These moves come two months after the announcement of the firms’ merger in April 2019 and a year after Catalyst’s acquisition of asset and wealth management specialists Knadel in February 2018. Andrew Middleton, who served as Catalyst CEO from August 2015, becomes an Executive Director of the Sionic Board, leading a portfolio of senior banking client relationships.
Tony Solway, Chairman, says “This announcement heralds the arrival of a major new force in financial services consulting and the Board see enormous potential for future growth in the business. I would like to thank Andrew for his transformation of Catalyst as CEO over the last four years and for his continuing contribution to the firm. We now look forward to working with Craig to deliver our vision to our clients, shareholders and staff.”
Craig Sher comments: “I’m excited to lead the new Sionic, which combines the deep industry expertise of three organisations brought together in just over a year to offer clients best-of-breed expertise across a wide range of specialisations. Adopting the single brand, Sionic, will make it easier for our clients and potential clients to identify and access our unique blend of business and people development services. And this is just the start. We shall shortly be announcing a series of senior new industry hires and new office openings in Europe, Asia and the Americas, as we rapidly become the leading specialist firm in global financial services.”
Sionic is backed by mid-sized private equity firm Livingbridge. Pete Clarke, Partner at Livingbridge adds: “This singular Sionic brand is representative of our ambition to have a totally integrated specialist consultancy business of scale with a significant international footprint, unifying 10 offices across nine countries. We are delighted that Craig is now CEO and look forward to working with him to deliver on our ambitious strategy to continue its global expansion, both organically and through further targeted acquisitions.”
