Mercer has strengthened its retirement risk and finance unit with the appointment of Alan Oates as business leader in Hong Kong.

Oates was previously a principal and senior member of the international benefits group at Mercer New York. He has a track record of managing global client relationships and leading multi-country, multi-line business projects. Prior to his New York position, he was part of the retirement, risk and finance team in the UK.

"Alan's appointment reflects Mercer's strategy in expanding its international benefits capability to service clients in Hong Kong and follows the expansion of our regional consulting team in Singapore," Vanessa Wang, Asia business leader for retirement, risk and finance, said in a statement.

Mercer is an international provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services. It has around 18,000 employees across over 40 countries.