There are changes at the top of the Copenhagen-headquartered group for its EMEA, Asia-Pacific and Singapore businesses.

Denmark-headquartered trading and investment house Saxo has appointed Damian Hitchen as regional head of the Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East and North Africa businesses.

Leading Saxo’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) segment since 2021, Hitchen has 20 years of experience in the global financial services industry. Before joining Saxo as MENA head, he was the CEO of Swissquote, based in Singapore. Prior to moving to Singapore, Hitchen established Swissquote’s regional MENA business while based in Dubai.

With Hitchen in place, Mahesh Sethuraman is appointed Singapore CEO of Saxo, the firm said in a statement. 

Together, Hitchen and Sethuraman will succeed Adam Reynolds, who is stepping own after a decade at Saxo as APAC and Singapore CEO of Saxo. 

Sethuraman will team up with Thomas Qvistgaard Hansen, deputy CEO and chief operating officer. Sethuraman, who joined Saxo Singapore in 2018, previously headed the global sales trading team; he has more than 15 years’ financial industry experience.

On 3 September, Saxo Bank – Saxo's parent firm – reported a first-half 2024 adjusted net profit of $76 million, rising by 35 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Looking forward, Saxo Bank said it expects the full year’s adjusted net profit to be maintained in line with the previously guided range of $127 to $150 million.