Don Plaus, who ‘retired’ as head of Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Management a year ago, has joined Citi as head of the Private Bank North America, according to a memo from Global Head of Citi Private Bank Ida Liu. He’ll report to Liu and succeeds Halé Behzadi, who will be retiring at the end of March.
Behzadi had been with the firm for 22 years, leading the West Coast region of the private bank before stepping into heading up all of North America. She was also co-chair of Citi’s California Leadership Council and executive sponsor of the firm’s North America Diversity Committee. Prior to joining Citi, she was a senior vice president at Bank of America.
“As a player-coach, Halé worked closely with her teams, leading with a steady hand. She has been a dedicated mentor and sponsor of our people, cultivating rising talent,” Liu said.
Plaus, who announced his 'retirement' from Merrill Lynch last February, will start April 1. He spent 32 years at Merrill Lynch, most recently as head of Private Wealth Management, International and Institutional. At the time of his departure, Merrill appointed Lindsay Hans, the head of Merrill Private Wealth Management’s Northeast division, to take over his position.
Last March, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management head Andy Sieg left the wirehouse to run Citigroup’s wealth management division, and Hans was promoted to president and co-head of Merrill, alongside Eric Schimpf. Schimpf, who started at Merrill in 1994 as a financial advisor, was serving as a division executive for the Pacific Coast and co-head of the enterprise advisor development program.
Antonio Gonzales, who formerly led JP Morgan Private Bank for Brazil, also recently joined Citi Private Bank as head of Latin America. He took over for Fabio Fontainha, who was interim head and will transition fully to lead business execution.