Simon-Kucher makes several appointments in Americas financial services practice
Simon-Kucher, a sales and marketing consulting firm, announced a number of senior appointments in its financial services practice in the Americas region.
The Bonn, Germany-headquartered firm has appointed senior partner Rick Spear to lead its financial services practice in the Americas. Spear will focus on building out the practice’s offerings in the region, including M&A deal diagnostics and value creation, growth strategy, go-to-market excellence, sales effectiveness, and AI transformation.
Based in New York, Spear has over 40 years of experience creating value for capital markets, asset management, and wealth management firms. He has been with Simon-Kucher since 2020.
Spear was previously managing director for strategy and planning at fintech firm ITG, a partner in the financial advisory practice of PwC, managing director and head of US capital markets at Oliver Wyman, and a manager at Morgan Stanley.
Michael Nadel, a partner in the Chicago office, has been named head of the global insurance practice. He joined Simon-Kucher in 2022 as a partner and previously led the North American insurance practice.
Earlier in his career, Nadel spent four years with CNA Insurance, where he was AVP for strategy and innovation, and four years with Accenture, where he was a financial services consultant.
Krishna Gottipaty has joined the New York office as a partner in the financial services practice. He brings more than 20 years of experience driving strategic change at asset management, corporate banking, capital markets, insurance, fintech, and specialty finance firms.
Gottipaty most recently spent six years with Gartner, where he was a senior partner in the financial services practice. Before that, he worked in the financial services consulting practices of Strategy&, Oliver Wyman, and Deloitte.
David Chung, a partner in Toronto, has been appointed head of payments. He has more than 25 years of consulting experience focusing on value management, strategic pricing, and product optimization.
Chung has been with Simon-Kucher since 2012. Before that, he was a manager at Novantas and Accenture.
Rohan Shah, a partner in New York, leads retail and small business banking. He has been with Simon-Kucher since joining the financial services practice as a consultant in 2015. Shah was previously a business technology analyst at Deloitte.
Christoph Stegmeier, a senior partner in Houston, leads neobanking in the Americas and financial services in LATAM. He has 25 years of management consulting experience.
Stegmeier joined Simon-Kucher in 2022, and was previously a managing director at Exton Consulting, a partner at Bluecap Management Consulting, and a senior manager at Oliver Wyman.
Leo D’Acierno, a senior advisor in New York, provides guidance in retail and small business banking. He has more than 35 years of experience in consulting and financial services.
D’Acierno has been at Simon-Kucher since 2019. He was previously a managing director at White Rock and Accenture and a partner at Bain & Company and Booz Allen Hamilton.
Doug Trott, a senior advisor in New York, provides guidance in the wealth management industry. He has been a senior advisor at Simon-Kucher since 2024 and has more than 35 years of management consulting experience.
Trott was previously a partner with McKinsey, retiring from the firm in 2020. He sold his firm PriceMetrix, which he co-founded and led since 2000, to McKinsey in 2016. Earlier in his career, Trott was a senior partner and Canada leader at Oliver Wyman.
“We are elevating and building a group of exceptional leaders at a pivotal moment for financial services,” said Brad Soper, managing partner of the Americas at Simon-Kucher. “Our clients are under enormous pressure to drive profitable growth while reinventing how they operate. This leadership team brings the strategic vision and operational know-how to help them do both. With their collective expertise, execution experience, and vision, we are confident they will propel our clients – and our firm – to new levels of performance.”
