Leading trust, fund, real estate and corporate services provider, First Names Group has promoted Mark Pesco to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The appointment is effective immediately.
This change in leadership reflects the evolving needs of the business as it begins to consolidate after a period of accelerated expansion. Mark has taken up the reins as the Group turns its attention to driving its organic growth strategy and cementing its position as the world’s largest independent provider of trust, corporate and fund services.
Mark has been with the Group for over 12 years and is already a key member of the Group Management Committee. In his new role, Mark will head up the Group Management Committee overseeing the day-to-day management and leadership of the business, incorporating its key service lines. He will take over from Cengiz Somay, who decided to step down as CEO in July.
A qualified Chartered Accountant, Mark has worked internationally namely in Singapore, Melbourne and London. He returned to Jersey in 2004 to join the Langtry Trust Group and was appointed to Partner within 12 months. In 2006, Mark led the sale of Langtry to IFG Group PLC and in 2008 he was appointed Managing Director for Jersey. In 2012, the International Division of IFG Group PLC underwent a management buyout and emerged as First Names Group. Since then he has continued to enjoy quick progression through the ranks most recently as Group Managing Director, Private Client.
The quality of Mark’s leadership has been well recognised already; in 2014 he won IoD Jersey Director of the Year for a Large Organisation and was also a finalist for the IoD UK Director of the Year award. In addition, he has been named in eprivateclient’s prestigious ‘Top 50 Most Influential 2016’ and the Citywealth ‘Leaders List’ for the last three years running.
Speaking about his new role Mark said:
“After spending the majority of my career helping to build the business, I feel extremely privileged to now lead it. The progress we have made since the MBO in 2012 has been nothing short of exceptional and I am really looking forward to hitting the ground running in this new role as we continue to evolve and grow the business.”
Morgan Jubb, Non-Executive Chairman congratulated Mark, saying:
“First Names Group is full of extremely talented individuals and I am really pleased we were able to find our new CEO from within the existing Leadership Team. Mark is a strong leader with a passion for superior client service and has a deep understanding of our Group DNA. He knows the business inside out and holds all the values we look for in a CEO.”
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