Who's Moving Where In Wealth Management? - Zytara, Cohen & Steers

Editorial Staff

8 December 2020

Zytara, UBS, Goldman Sachs
US fintech firm Zytara has appointed former UBS and Goldman Sachs senior figures to join its advisory board.

The business, which was founded in 2019, concentrates on “supporting Millennial and Gen Z gamers and their households.” It has named Andy Brown and Moritz Baier-Lentz as board members. The firm intends to launch its platform in 2021. Zytara says that its “mission is to provide financial inclusion and literacy for Millennials and Gen Z” and it is building a digital banking platform for gaming and esports enthusiasts.

Brown is the chief executive of Sand Hill East, which provides strategic management, investment and marketing services to emerging companies. Brown served as group chief technology officer of UBS. He has held senior posts at banks, including head of strategy for architecture and optimization at Bank of America, chief technology architect at Merrill Lynch, and CTO of infrastructure at Credit Suisse. He is also a board member of a raft of businesses.

Baier-Lentz is a partner of BITKRAFT Ventures, an early and mid-stage investment platform for gaming, esports, and interactive media. Prior to joining the fund, he was a vice president with the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs, where he built and co-led the firm's global gaming and esports practice.

"Today's $170 billion gaming and esports industries lack a payment solution designed with gamers in mind, one that caters to the specific needs of an audience that's young, digitally native, and extremely well-connected on social platforms and in ways their parents have possibly never heard of,” Baier-Lentz said. “As an ex-gamer and investor in the space, I'm far too aware of the issues that have been felt by gamers wishing to make in-game purchases and player-to-player payments, or connect with the esports teams, influencers, and brands they care about. But that is only scratching the surface. To be part of a company that is offering something so unique to this audience is something I had to embrace."

Cohen & Steers
Cohen & Steers, the US-based investment manager specialising in real assets such as real estate and alternative areas including listed infrastructure, has appointed Greg Bottjer as executive vice president and head of global product strategy and development. He is based in New York.

Bottjer has more than 27 years’ financial services experience. Most recently he was senior managing director and head of product management and development at Nuveen.

Founded in 1986, the firm is based in New York, with offices in London, Dublin, Hong Kong and Tokyo.