Samba Financial Group, the former Saudi American Bank, has hired John Gillbanks from Nestlé pension fund in Switzerland to launch a fund-of-hedge funds business.

Gillbanks will join Samba in the new position as head of alternative investments, based in London, on July 1. Samba, which gained its independence from Citigroup this year, is planning to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in hedge funds, said Gillbanks.