GLOBAL: HSBC Asia communications chief David Hall has ended his 12-year tenure with the bank, joining Apco Worldwide as part of trio of senior advisory appointments to the firm’s global financial practice.

Hall is joined at Apco’s International Advisory Council (IAC) by former Goldman Sachs MD Joseph Zimmel, and Galileo Advisors chairman and CEO Georges Ugeux.

“APCO is a demonstrated leader in providing strategic, results-oriented council to Asia’s top financial constituencies,” said Hall. “I’m eager to contribute my knowledge and expertise to the firm’s growing practice – and take its global success to even greater heights.”

Prior to joining HSBC in Hong Kong in 1998, Hall worked at Standard Chartered Bank, overseeing communications in Northeast Asia. A former partner at Grayling, Hall helped found Westminster Strategy.

Zimmel, meanwhile, joins Apco’s IAC after more than 20 years of leadership roles at Goldman Sachs. He is an active director on the board of FactSet Research Systems, and Century Link Communications.

Ugeux previously headed the international group of the New York Stock Exchange. He was also a member of the European corporate executive council of General Electric, and president of the European Investment Fund.

“Each brings an elite level of expertise in the financial industry, having sat in the same seats and at the same tables as many of our clients,” said Apco founder and CEO Margery Kraus. “They understand the complex issues clients in this sector often face because they have encountered them – and successfully conquered them – in their own careers.”