Simon Harris Appointed as COO of Omnis Investments
Simon Harris has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Omnis Investments (“Omnis”), part of the Openwork Partnership, managing the Operations team and overseeing a range of in-house and outsourced operational and service delivery activities.
In his role as COO, Simon will be responsible for the strategy and efficiency of Omnis’ operational functions including the day-to-day investment operations, settlements, fund services, DFM operations, product management and change management delivery. Simon joined the business on 3rd July 2023, reporting to Robert Jeffree, Chief Executive Officer at Omnis.
Simon brings over 20 years of asset management experience from roles that range from fund accounting, unit-linked pricing, outsourced supplier management, custody oversight, finance operations and investment operations. He joins from Embark, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, where he was Head of Investment Operations. Prior to this, Simon spent over 18 years at Zurich Insurance Company, in a variety of roles, with the most recent being responsible for delivering operational expertise to the UK Investments team within the Group Investment Management business. He started his career in audit assurance and qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young.
Simon’s appointment follows the retirement of Sandra Berry, Head of Operations at Omnis, who has been involved with The Openwork Partnership for many years and has specifically managed the operational functions at Omnis for over 12 years.
Robert Jeffree, Chief Executive Officer of Omnis Investments, said: “As both an investment manager and ACD, Omnis has full responsibility for the management, operations and reporting of all our funds, and our COO role is integral in ensuring these functions operate as they should. Simon’s experience across all these areas makes him ideally placed for the role. We look forward to welcoming him to the team.
“I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Sandra for her many years of service to Omnis and The Openwork Partnership. We wish her all the best as she steps away from working life.”
Simon Harris added: “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Omnis during my time in the industry and I am especially excited to join an investments business that, from an operational perspective, rather uniquely covers both front and back-office responsibilities. I look forward to taking on this new role and working closely with Omnis’ service partners and key stakeholders.”
Omnis manages over £10 billion in assets, exclusively on behalf of The Openwork Partnership, a network of 4,600 financial advisers across the country, and 2plan wealth management.
