BNY Mellon Wealth Management has named Thomas Dicker to be Head of U.S. Markets, based in Boston. In his new role Dicker will oversee the 38 wealth offices throughout the US reporting into Don Heberle, CEO of BNY Mellon Wealth Management.
Dicker, who most recently served as the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, is responsible for driving growth and delivering a superior client experience across the firm’s regional markets and has held several other key leadership positions and client-facing roles during his 29 years with BNY Mellon including overseeing the acquisition of the firm’s offices in Toronto, Chicago, and Menlo Park.
California
The firm has also hired Marleny Cheshier as a senior wealth manager in its Newport Beach wealth management office. Cheshier reports to Michael Silane, senior director of portfolio management. The Newport Beach office has experienced strong growth serving high net worth clients in Orange County and the broader Southern California market. Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Cheshier was at Northern Trust for 18 years, where she most recently served as a vice president and senior portfolio manager.
Five additional staff in Chicago
BNY Mellon has also hired Kevin S. Kosmak for a newly created team leader and senior wealth manager role and named Scott Sandee as senior wealth director. The firm also appointed Kelly Demers as vice president and residential mortgage banker. It named Daniel D. Abbatacola as underwriter in life insurance premium lending, and Joseph R. Schwall as senior private banker.
The additions to the Chicago office are part of the firm’s strategic hiring initiative in important wealth markets and bring the total size of the Chicago office to 35 professionals, an increase of 350% since BNY Mellon opened its doors there in 2010.
“BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s growth strategy here in Chicago and across the country is to continue to recruit and develop the best talent in the industry. We’re delighted to welcome Kevin, Scott, Kelly, Dan and Joe to our expanding Chicago office,” said Michael DiMedio, Chicago regional president. “They join a team that offers BNY Mellon’s exceptional wealth management services to our ever-expanding client base.”
Kosmak and Sandee report to DiMedio, while Demers reports to Managing Director Erin Gorman. Schwall reports to Regional Director William McKinley and Abbatacola reports to Rebecca Ryan, head of private bank life insurance lending.
Kosmak comes to BNY Mellon from Northern Trust, where he served for more than 13 years and was a senior portfolio manager and team leader. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in finance and a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of North Texas. He has a master’s in business administration with a concentration in financial analysis from DePaul University. He is a member of the board of the St. Edward School in Chicago, and is active with the Skokie Amateur Hockey Association.
Sandee was previously employed as a private wealth advisor for BMO Private Bank and, before that, as a wealth strategist with Northern Trust. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., and is a resident of Wilmette, Ill.
Demers joins BNY Mellon from JP Morgan Chase where she was a private client mortgage banker. She has nine years of financial services experience and a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in mathematics from the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. She is a member of the board for the West Point Society of Chicago, the National Louis University Veteran’s committee and IL State Treasurer’s Veteran’s Advisory Committee.
Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Abbatacola was employed as a senior underwriter with Northern Trust. Earlier he was with Cornerstone National Bank and Trust Company. He holds a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in finance from Northern Illinois University, and resides in Plainfield, Ill.
Schwall joins BNY Mellon from Northern Trust, where he held several key positions over his 27 years there. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is an active member of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Have Dreams autism awareness organization.