BT adds head of platform and strategy

BT has appointed its former head of platform simplification Russell Brinckley, who re-joins the business as the head of platform strategy and development.

Mr Brinckley returns to BT after less than two years at FNZ Australia, where he served as head of solution consulting.

Prior to FNZ, he spent 20 years at BT, where he led a multi-year platform simplification program.

BT said that Mr Brinckley was “instrumental in the development of the BT Panorama platform and the foundation delivery of its managed account offering”.

Over the following decade, he played a key role in delivering new platform features onto BT Panorama, focused on supporting advisers to service their clients and grow their businesses – including the launch of BT Open, which set the industry standard for fee transparency.

In his new role, Mr Brinckley will be responsible for “leading and delivering product development in alignment with the platform’s market strategy”. He commenced in his new role on 9 August and reports to BT’s chief strategy and product officer, Kathy Vincent.

Mr Brinckley said: “I’m excited to be back at BT. With the recent announcement by Westpac to retain the platforms business, and its commitment to invest in BT, I look forward to leading the development of key initiatives for BT Panorama, designed to enable quality financial advice to thrive.”

Ms Vincent added: “We are delighted to welcome Russell back into the fold. With his deep knowledge of advice delivery and product development, he is a highly regarded expert in the platforms industry.

“Russell’s broad industry experience will help to fortify BT’s position as a market leader and financial advisers’ platform provider of choice.”

The latest appointment follows BT adding a new lead for its platforms’ distribution team.

In May, BT named acting head of distribution Jason Brown to the role, which the company said would bolster its team as it continues to invest in BT Panorama’s digital capability, platform features, and managed accounts offer.

“Jason is the right fit for the team at the right time. He has enormous respect with our people and advisers and has demonstrated strength in his leadership skills through market volatility, changing economic environments, as well as rapid growth and change,” Ms Vincent said at the time.