Bermudian Kees van Beelen has joined a team at Merrill Lynch in New York where he will be providing wealth management solutions for a large book of onshore and offshore clients.

Mr. van Beelen recently resigned from the Bank of Bermuda-HSBC where he a ran fixed income strategy for the Private Bank Investment Group.

While at HSBC Private Bank he was also a member of the Global Investment Policy committee.

@EDITRULE:

The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce has been accepted as a member of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA).

The Ministry of Telecommunications and E-Commerce assisted George Holland from Ernst & Young, to attend the WITSA World Congress on Information Technology in Austin, Texas on May 3 to May 5 to represent The Chamber of Commerce, Business Technology Division.

While attending the Congress The Chamber of Commerce was introduced as a new member.

“We at the Ministry of Telecommunications and E-Commerce are, of course, happy to support industry's efforts to link with such organisations,” Telecommunications Minister Michael Scott said. “We recognise the benefits to Bermuda as a whole and will continue to partner with the private sector to ensure we remain aware of their needs and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.”

“As the only British Overseas Territory and one of the smallest countries to be a member, it puts the island in a unique position to have access to information that will allow the island Information Technology industry to position itself in respect to the rest of the world.”

Mr. Holland said: “Whether it be security issues such as identity fraud, Radio Frequency ID (RFID) business applications or implications for the Health Care industry, we will be able to tap into a fantastic resource pool that used wisely, could benefit Bermuda.”