Wealth manager Tilney Smith & Williamson has appointed Chris Grigg as its new chair as Will Samuel departs after four years at the helm.

Mr Samuel was appointed chair of Tilney Bestinvest in January 2017 and oversaw the agreement to merge Tilney and Smith & Williamson in September 2020. He then became the first chair of the newly combined firm.

He said he believed he was leaving the firm in safe hands: “I am proud of what Tilney Smith & Williamson has already achieved since the merger in September 2020 and believe that it has a bright future ahead.” 

He will be replaced by Mr Grigg, subject to FCA approvals.

Mr Grigg is chair of the newly formed UK Infrastructure Bank and is senior independent director at BAE Systems, where he has served on the board for 8 years.

He was formerly chief executive of Barclays’ Commercial Bank as well as group treasurer. He also spent almost 20 years at Goldman Sachs, ending his career there as a partner.

Mr Grigg said: “I am excited to be joining the Board of Tilney Smith & Williamson at such a transformational time for the Group. I want to extend my thanks to Will Samuel who chaired the board of Tilney Group through an extremely successful period of expansion, culminating in the merger with Smith & Williamson.

“I will be working with Chris Woodhouse, our group chief executive officer, and the rest of the board to ensure we deliver a great service to all our clients.”