Diversified Trust has expanded its team in Atlanta, naming a COO after recently promoting a managing principal at the office.

Diversified Trust has named Jeff Howard as chief operating officer at its Atlanta, GA, office, following the recent promotion of Mark Bell to managing principal of the branch.

Before joining Diversified Trust, Bell was chief investment officer at BlueArc Capital Management, an alternative asset manager focused on family offices, where he remains a director. He started his career at McKinsey & Co and subsequently was director of strategy at D E Shaw & Co, where he helped develop the organization's private equity investment strategy and launched the firm's reinsurance business. 

Howard has been a key contributor in the ongoing development of Diversified Trust's portfolio management practices, the firm said. He will continue to work with his existing clients.

Diversified Trust, based in the Southeast, also has offices in Greensboro, NC; Memphis, TN; and Nashville, TN.