New head of platform strategy appointed at BT

Russell Brinckley, former head of platform simplification at BT for over three years, has returned to the business to lead platform strategy and development. 

In his role, he will be responsible for leading and delivering product development in alignment with the platform’s market strategy, as BT continues its focus on supporting advisers to run efficient practices.

Brinckley had departed in March 2022 to move to FNZ Australia. There, he led a team of wealth technologists, defining and delivering platform capabilities for some of the industry’s newest market entrants as head of solution consulting. 

Prior to FNZ, he spent two decades at BT and was instrumental in the development of the BT Panorama platform and the foundation delivery of its managed account offering. 

He played a key role in delivering new platform features onto BT Panorama, including the launch of BT Open. 

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Brinckley will now report to chief strategy and product officer, Kathy Vincent. 

“We are delighted to welcome Russell back into the fold,” Vincent said. “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.”

Vincent will be departing BT at the end of the year to join superannuation fund Australian Retirement Trust as its chief of retirement.

Commenting on the appointment, Brinckley expressed his excitement to return to BT again.

“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,” he said. 

In June, the bank announced it had concluded its sale of the BT platform business and decided to retain the business.

The sale process for BT’s wealth management platform had been ongoing since February 2022 and potential interested parties include AMP, HUB24, and Netwealth. However, the main rival had been Colonial First State, backed by US private equity firm KKR.

Speaking to Money Management, BT chief executive, Matt Rady, said: “It took a lot longer than anyone would have seen as ideal, but we felt it was important to do it right and we had a lot of interest which was exciting but we couldn’t reach an agreement. 

“As a consequence of that, Westpac sees an amazing opportunity to invest in the business for years to come and recognise the strength we have in the market.”