As part of a sustained effort to strengthen relationships with advisors nationwide, DWS Scudder has added 15 new hires to its staff of sales professionals. The firm announced the appointments on Monday.

Early last February, Deutsche Bank Asset Management renamed Scudder, its U.S. mutual fund arm, DWS Scudder. Company officials said the move kicked off a fresh strategy designed to invigorate advisor-driven channels in the U.S. With the latest announcement, managing director and head of DWS Scudder, Axel Schwarzer, reiterated the firm's focus on that area.

"Strengthening the DWS Scudder sales platform is one in a series of strategic initiatives we are taking to bolster our efforts throughout the United States," he said in a statement. The new hires "exemplify the high caliber of talent and commitment to world-class service and support we bring to financial advisors across the country," he added.

The fifteen include eight new regional vice presidents: Jason Inglis, Mitchell Izumi, Matthew Sawyer and Douglas Wallace Jr. will cover territories in the western U.S. and will report to regional director John Telling; Phillip Northington, Colleen Ignacio Yee and Jeffrey L. Smith will cover southern U.S. territories and report to regional director Mark Perrelli, and Christopher Berg will serve the central U.S., reporting to regional director Bud Cappola.

Additionally, Ruben Gonzalez, Richard Merson, Kevin Morgan and Bill Wilkinson will serve as retirement services specialists in the northeast, west, south central and midwest regions, respectively. All will report to Ron Cohen, head of retirement plan services.

This round of hiring has also yielded two national account managers -- Kristina Young, reporting to Steve DiMaio, and Derik Liberatore, an assistant vice president in the financial institutions group, who reports to Kim Mustin -- as well as Andrea Schlapia, vice president and advanced sales specialist, who will report to Scott Frumhoff.

Philipp Hensler, managing director and head of DWS Scudder Distributors, Inc., said the human resources push would signal to advisors that DWS Scudder is committed to "superior solutions." The advanced sales team, he said, would be "dedicated to helping advisors build their book of business."  

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