Deals & People October 3, 2014

BMO Asset Management Adds Three to U.S. Team

Chris Simmons, Kamila Kowalke and Robert Stapleton have joined the U.S. team of BMO Global Asset Management.
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Simmons joined the DCIO team as a regional sales director of defined contribution, investment only,  covering the West Coast.  He will work with key platforms, consultants and advisers to expand DCIO sales and relationships. Simmons was previously the national sales manager for DCIO and sub-advisory services at an independent investment manager. Based in California, he will report to Chris Barlow, national sales director of DCIO.

Kowalke has joined the institutional sales team as a relationship manager. She was most recently vice president of institutional sales at a global investment firm, focused on the development and execution of the institutional sales for western California. She has distribution experience in global equity, fixed income, convertibles and alternatives, including a hedge fund. Before that, Kowalke was a director of institutional markets at Dow Jones Indexes. She is based in southern California and will report to Mark Osterkamp, managing director and head of institutional sales and service, BMO Global Asset Management.

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Stapleton has joined the short-duration fixed-income group as an assistant portfolio manager. He has five years of fixed-income experience; his most recent role was spent on a sell side institutional trading desk assisting in mortgage/corporate trading as well as client relations. Stapleton will report to Peter Arts, managing director and head of taxable short fixed income.

Deals & People October 3, 2014

Law Firm Mayer Brown Adds ERISA Attorney

Nancy G. Ross has joined global law firm Mayer Brown in Chicago as a partner in the employment and ERISA litigation practice.
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Ross focuses her practice primarily on employee benefits class action litigation and counseling under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). She has extensive experience in counseling and representing employers, boards of directors, plan fiduciaries and trustees in matters concerning pension and welfare benefit plans.

Ross’ experience includes representation of pension plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), trustees and employers concerning their administration of plan assets and fiduciary responsibilities. She frequently represents directors and officers named as defendants in ERISA litigation over 401(k) plans and other employee benefit plans. She also has extensive experience in counseling employers seeking to reduce their retiree health benefits exposure and has successfully represented companies in litigation challenging the reduction of retiree medical benefits. Additionally, Ross has been approved by various insurance companies to represent directors and officers in fiduciary litigation.

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“The continued increase in litigation under ERISA directly impacts companies in all industries, and Nancy is well known in the marketplace as a first-rate ERISA and benefits litigator,” says Marcia Goodman, co-leader of the employment and ERISA litigation practice. “Her breadth and depth of experience in counseling and litigation for these types of claims will be of tremendous value to clients, and we are thrilled to have her join Mayer Brown.”

Ross is on the board of directors of the Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF) and serves as vice chair of CBF’s Grants Committee. She is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Additionally, Ross is a faculty member for the ABA National Institute, for which she frequently speaks at seminars nationwide on employee benefits issues. In 2014, she was named the “Lawyer of the Year ERISA Litigation – Chicago” by Best Lawyers.

Ross holds a JD from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law and a BA from the University of Colorado.

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