Wilmington Trust Newsroom

• Sharon L. Klein appointed Family Wealth President for Eastern Region
• James O’Hoppe hired as Wealth Advisory President of Tri-State Region

NEW YORK—Wilmington Trust appointed Sharon L. Klein as Eastern Region president for Family Wealth, and James O’Hoppe was hired as president of the Tri-State Region, which includes the New York City, Westchester, Connecticut, Long Island, and Northern New Jersey markets.
 

Sharon L. Klein, Eastern Region President for Family Wealth
Klein is being promoted from president of the Tri-State Region to this newly created role where she will be responsible for leading the expansion of the Family Wealth business throughout the eastern United States. Klein will work collaboratively with Wilmington Trust and M&T Bank colleagues to serve high-net-worth clients across that region.
 
“Sharon is one of the most highly-regarded professionals in our business and we are fortunate to have someone as experienced and talented as Sharon working directly with our largest client relationships,” said Bill LaFond, head of the Family Wealth division. “Sharon will continue her successful work in growing our Family Wealth business, but on a larger scale. This important role complements our national strategy, which includes adding Brian Oard as leader of our Family Wealth business on the West Coast last year.”
 
Klein has more than two decades of experience in the wealth management industry. Prior to joining Wilmington Trust, she was managing director and head of Wealth Advisory for Lazard Wealth Management. Before that, Klein headed the Estate Advisement department at Fiduciary Trust Company International. Klein began her career as a trusts and estates attorney at Rosenman & Colin (now Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP).
 
She earned a Master of Laws from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, and received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales, Australia. She is recognized industry-wide as a speaker and author, and is frequently featured or quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Law Journal, and other publications.
 
Klein is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and a member of New York Bankers Association Trust & Investment Division Executive Committee, the Rockefeller University Committee on Trust and Estate Gift Plans, the Professional Advisory Council of the Anti-Defamation League, the Estates, Gifts and Trusts Advisory Board for the Bureau of National Affairs, and the Thomson Reuters Trusts & Estates Advisory Board.
 
She is a past chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Trusts, Estates and Surrogate’s Court Committee, a past chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Law Section Taxation Committee, and a member of the New York City Bar Association’s Matrimonial Committee. In June, Klein was honored by the UJA-Federation of New York Lawyers Division for her contributions to the community and the Trusts and Estates profession.
 
Klein will continue to be based in Wilmington Trust’s New York City office, and can be contacted at 212-415-0531.
 
James O’Hoppe, Tri-State Region President
As president of the Tri-State Region, O’Hoppe is responsible for overseeing Wealth Advisory services in the Greater New York area. He will lead a team of professionals who provide planning, trust, investment management, family governance and education, family office, and private banking services to high-net-worth clients.
 
Prior to joining Wilmington Trust, O’Hoppe was senior vice president and managing director in the New York office of Bernstein Private Wealth Management, where he helped lead the New York Area private client business. Before joining Bernstein in 2003, O’Hoppe spent 12 years in the telecom and technology industries.
 
“Jim comes to us with a stellar reputation in the New York market as a leader in wealth management, so he was an ideal choice to take the lead of our New York region with Sharon’s new appointment,” said William Buccella, president of U.S. Markets for Wealth Advisory. “Wilmington Trust has long served high-net-worth families throughout the Greater New York area. Under Jim’s leadership, we will continue to grow our services to both our current and future clients in the region.”
 
O’Hoppe earned an MBA from Cornell University, and bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University. He is an active contributor to Cornell’s Families In Business Institute. He is also active in the community. O’Hoppe and his wife established the James and Kimberly O'Hoppe Charitable Fund to address local community needs including children’s environmental health, educational and economic advancement, and college scholarships.
 
O’Hoppe is based in Wilmington Trust’s New York City office, located at 350 Park Ave., 9th Floor in New York, and can be contacted at 212-415-0565.