Mr Hobbs, a former chief executive of platform Cofunds, will take over from executive chairman Graham Coxell who will become non-executive chairman.
Mr Coxell will remain executive chairman until Mr Hobbs arrives later in the year.
St James’s Place announced the £34m takeover of Bristol-based Rowan Dartington in 2015. Rowan Dartington has trebled assets since then. Established in 1990, Rowan Dartington is a wealth manager with offices across England and Scotland and client assets of over £2bn.
The Rowan Dartington private client business specialises in Financial Planning and discretionary investment management and also provides stockbroking services. RD also provides discretionary services to SJP as well as operating under its own name.
Mr Hobbs previously worked at firms including Cofunds and Legal & General, where he was chief executive of Suffolk Life, the specialist SIPP provider which is now part of Curtis Banks.
Mr Hobbs, said: “I am delighted to be joining Rowan Dartington and taking on the challenge of leading them to even greater heights, delivering an excellent service for private clients, intermediaries and the St. James’s Place Partnership. I can’t wait to start.”
Mr Coxell, Rowan Dartington’s executive chairman, said: “David is extremely well regarded and it is a real pleasure to welcome him to lead the great Rowan Dartington family under the ownership of our fantastic parent St James’s Place. David is extremely well suited and unquestionably the best person for the job. I will be proud to hand over the CEO reigns to David later this year.”