Openwork’s Mike Morrow and Investec’s Ciaran Whelan have joined the board of wealth manager trade body PIMFA.

Mike Morrow is chief commercial officer at adviser network Openwork. During his career he has held senior wealth management roles at AXA, HSBC and Ascentric before joining Openwork as wealth director in June 2015.

In his current role, Mr Morrow provides a focal point for Openwork’s proposition development and contractual relationships with adviser firms and third parties as well as leading the development of the wealth platform.

Mr Morrow said he hopes to use his time at PIMFA to help the wealth management industry have greater influence over financial market developments.

He said: “The Wealth Management industry generally, and the advice profession specifically, needs to exert greater influence over how the market should develop at this critical juncture, harnessing the role of traditional advice and digital opportunity.”

Ciaran Whelan is managing director of Investec and CEO of Investec Wealth and Investment (UK). He has been part of the Investec group for over 30 years.

During his time on the PIMFA board, Mr Whelan hopes to help tackle the challenges of transferring wealth through the generations, the growth of ESG investing, how the industry is regulated, and how wealth managers provide advice to a wider group of investors.

He said: “Wealth management and financial advice are vital sectors of the UK economy. This is a period of great change, not only in our industry but in society as a whole. Advances that many had thought would be some years away are taking place far more rapidly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Lord Debden, chairman of PIMFA, said the pair will help take the wealth manager trade body forward at a time when its members are facing many challenges.

He said: “There were already many challenges and opportunities facing the wealth management and advice industry before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. Many of those challenges and opportunities remain, and some have been amplified by the pandemic. Ciaran and Mike’s experience will be invaluable in helping navigate a path that creates an industry that is fit for the future and benefits the financial and mental wellbeing of an ever-widening pool of consumers through the provision of professional advice for all.”