People Moves
Summary Of Asia-Pacific Executive Moves In June 2013

Manulife, the Canada-based financial services group, announced
the appointment of Lawrence Nutting as chief distribution officer
for its Hong Kong office. Nutting was previously the general
manager of Manulife-Sinochem's Shanghai branch. He joined
Manulife as assistant vice president for regional agency
development and training in 2003 and then moved to
Manulife-Sinochem in 2004 as vice president of China agency
development.
HSBC Global Asset Management appointed Sanjiv Duggal as head of
Asian and Indian equities, based in Hong Kong. Duggal, who was
based in Singapore, relocated and added this new role his
responsibility as the lead manager of the HSBC GIF Indian Equity
fund. He has been with the group for more than 17 years.
ING, the Netherlands-headquartered financial group with
operations in regions including Asia, named industry veteran Stan
Beckers as chief executive of ING Investment Management
International. Beckers took over from Gilbert Van Hassel who has
decided to leave the company.
BOC Hong Kong Holdings, the parent firm of Bank of China,
strengthened its board of directors with the appointment of Tian
Guoli as chairman and non-executive director of the firm and of
Bank of China (Hong Kong), its principal operating subsidiary.
Tian is currently the chairman and executive director of Bank of
China, the controlling shareholder of the company with some 66.06
per cent of issued shares. He replaced Xiao Gang, who resigned
from the company in 17 March 2013.
Hong Kong relationship manager Paul Lam left Barclays after working at the private banking arm for over two years.
Liechtenstein-headquartered VP Bank Group - which has offices in
Singapore and Hong Kong, among others - is shaking up its top
management structure to make itself more efficient in serving
clients, and is recruiting a new head of client business – a
newly formed unit. In a statement, the private bank said it "will
be welcoming a new member to its Group Executive Management." An
announcement has yet to be made.
Bosera Asset Management, the Shenzhen-headquartered fund
management firm, announced the departure of its general manager
He Bao, citing personal reasons. He was replaced in the interim
by Yang Kun, managing director.
Nikko Asset Management, the Tokyo-headquartered global asset
management group, split the roles of chief executive and chairman
to comply with common corporate governance practices. Takumi
Shibata assumed the role of director and chairman, responsible
for governance related matters. Charles Beazley remains as
president and CEO and is responsible for the day-to-day
management of the business. The separation of the chairman and
CEO roles was a unanimous decision by the board. Shibata's
appointment effectively brings the board composition to nine
directors, with four executive directors, three non-executive
independent directors and two from STB.
Andrew Deane, one of the original founders of WealthBriefing and
WealthBriefingAsia, launched a new recruitment business, Andrew
Deane Associates. The company will focus on mandates from major
wealth management firms and private banks in Europe, Middle East
and Asia.
Swiss private bank Julius Baer appointed Jacqueline Dong as team
head and senior relationship manager for the Chinese market. She
was a former managing partner at IAM and Silverhorn Investment
Advisors. In her new role, Dong reports to Kaven Leung, chief
executive officer for North Asia.
International law firm Walkers ramped its international network
with new partners at various global offices. In Hong Kong, Paul
Aherne was promoted to counsel in the finance and corporate
group. In Singapore, Laura Rogers was promoted to partner of the
investment funds group.
BOC Hong Kong, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of China,
announced the retirement of its deputy chief executive for
financial markets, Wong See Hong. He was replaced by Huang Hong,
who also assumed the roles of director of BOC Group Life
Assurance, director and chairman of BOCI-Prudential Trustee and
BOC Group Trustee. Huang has been with the company since 1981.
Mawer Investment Management, the Canadian investment counselling
firm, opened its first overseas office in Singapore and named
Peter Lampert, international equity analyst at the Calgary
branch, to lead the division. The Singapore office is set to be
launched in August 2013 and will be its third, after Calgary and
Toronto.
Allianz Global Investors, the UK-headquartered investment firm,
rehired Eugene Eun Soo Chung, a former executive, as chief
executive for Korea. Chung was chief investment officer of fixed
income at AllianzGI Korea from 2001 to 2006. Prior to rejoining
the firm, he was CEO and president of KyoboAXA Investment
Managers, Korea. He took over from Kwanghyun Kyung, the chief
operating officer who served as acting CEO after Wonil Lee left
the company in February this year.
Lyxor Asset Management, an investment business of Societe
Generale, appointed Gilbert Tse to the newly-created role of head
of Lyxor for Asia, based in Hong Kong. Tse reports to Pierre Gil,
Lyxor’s head of international development. He was previously the
executive vice general manager of Fortune SG Fund
Management.
BNP Paribas Wealth Management appointed Steven Chan as a senior
relationship manager and director for the China Market. He
reports to Isabelle Tian, who is managing director. Chan
previously worked at DBS.
Zurich-headquartered-based client on-boarding specialist Appway
launched a regional office in Hong Kong and named Reto Merazzi as
its head. Merazzi joined the firm from UBS.
The Alternative Investment Management Association announced the
departure of its chief executive, Andrew Baker, by the end of
2013. He will hand over the CEO role to his successor, who has
yet to be named. Baker has been CEO since 2009. Prior to that, he
served as deputy CEO for two years. The separation is amicable
and he will stay on until his replacement has started.
Anna Wong, market area head, Greater China, resigned from Credit
Suisse to pursue other opportunities after spending less than two
years in that position. Tee Fong Seng, vice chairman for private
banking Asia-Pacific, will take on the roles of market area head,
Greater China, and head of private banking, Hong Kong, reporting
functionally to Francesco de Ferrari, head of private banking
Asia-Pacific, and from a location perspective to Neil Harvey and
Liping Zhang, co-chief executives for Greater China.
Fidelity Worldwide Investment announced that Fidelity China
Special Situations trust manager Anthony Bolton will retire in
April 2014 and will be replaced by fund manager Dale Nicholls.
After April 2014, Bolton will continue as an advisor to Fidelity
and a trustee of its charitable foundations. Nicholls has 17
years’ investment experience and has managed the Fidelity Funds
Pacific Fund since September 2003.
Australian wealth manager Equity Trustees appointed industry
veteran Paul Kasian to head its equities arm. Kasian was
previously the CIO at First Samuel and held various senior roles
at HSBC Global Asset Management.
Kroll Advisory Solutions relocated senior managing director Omer
Erginsoy from its London office to its Singapore headquarters to
lead its Asia-Pacific advisory business. Also relocated to
Singapore was Stefano Demichelis, associate managing director for
the investigations practice in London, to focus on developing
data-mining strategies for the Asian market. On a similar note,
the company relocated Jason Wright from the Singapore office to
Hong Kong to become an associate managing director.
HSBC Global Asset Management named Kalen Lim as its new chief
executive for Singapore, after serving as head of business
finance for HSBC Singapore. Lim took over from Sten Ankarcrona,
who was named managing director and head of the Nordic region at
HSBC Global's Stockholm office.
BNY Mellon Asset Servicing appointed Michael Chan as its new head
for Singapore. Chan assumes this new role after serving as
managing director and head of sales and business development for
the firm's asset servicing arm in Asia. The previous head, Chong
Jin Leow, has left the bank for undisclosed reasons.
Nikko Asset Management named Ross Long as chief legal officer
effective 24 June, to replace David Monroe who resigned in May
after seven years with the firm. Long brings almost 30 years of
industry experience to the role.
BNP Paribas Wealth Management bolstered its Hong Kong arm with
the appointment of Amie Cheng as team head for the HK market. She
was joined by three financial specialists: June Chow and Fion
Wong, from HSBC, and Vivienne Wong, from Credit Suisse.
BNY Mellon announced that Robert Kung is taking over from Sunny
Sun as country executive for China. Sun returns to the company's
New York headquarters to pursue a new role working with Asian
clients in the US. Kung also now serves as general manager for
the Shanghai branch. Prior to appointment, he was managing
director and head of private banking for the China region at DBS.
Eastspring Investments, the asset management arm of Prudential
Asia, named Guy Strapp as chief executive effective from 1
August, to replace Graham Mason who will become executive vice
chairman of the firm. Strapp joined the company in 2007 and prior
to the appointment served as CEO of the Singapore and Hong Kong
businesses.
Credit Suisse bid farewell to Marcel Kreis, chairman for private
banking in Asia-Pacific in 1 July. Details of his next role have
yet to emerge.
UBS Hong Kong strengthened its domestic market coverage with the
appoitment of executive director Freeman Ma as desk head in HKT1,
reporting to Becky Li. Jamee Wong Wong, executive director, was
appointed as desk head in HKT2, to report to Philip Mak. Managing
director LienSeng Tan was also named desk head in HKT2, while
Crystal Wong joined the same team as client advisor, director,
reporting to Kenny Pang.
Man Group named Jamie Douglas chief executive for its Australian
arm, Man Investments Australia. Douglas joined the firm from JP
Morgan in London, where he last served as managing director for
foreign exchange and emerging markets. He reports to Emmanuel
Roman, CEO.
Standard Chartered announced the departure of Low Wei Ling, head
of Singapore and global markets private banking. Low had held the
role for two and a half years. Details of her next role have yet
to emerge.
Graeme Liebelt, CEO at mining firm Orica, joiend the board of
directors at Australia and New Zealand Bank. His appointment took
effect 1 July.
Mercer, the global consulting firm, bulked up its growth markets
investment and retirement teams in Asia and Europe with three
appointments. Jeff Schutes has taken the newly-created role of
head of the investments business in the growth markets, covering
Asia, the Middle East and Turkey, Africa and Latin America. He
was previously the head of the Latin America investments
business. Andrew Kirton succeeded Tom Geraghty as head of the
investments business in Europe after the latter took the post of
market leader and CEO for Ireland. Finally Akhil Sethi assumed
the newly-created post of head of the retirement business in the
growth markets. He was previously the global chief operating
officer for the retirement arm.
Toronto-based BMO Financial Group chose Ravi Sriskandarajah to
head its new office in Australia as managing director.
Sriskandarajah was previously the head of institutional
distribution in Australia for BlackRock.
Nordea Bank, the Scandinavian firm, named Eric Pedersen as head
of its new private banking office in Singapore. Pedersen used to
be an analyst at the bank's treasury department and since 2000
has worked in senior roles within asset management private
banking. Other members of the new Singapore team are account
managers Jonas Bergqvist, Haavard Farstad and Kim Osborg
Nielsen.
JBWere, the private wealth management firm owned by National
Australia Bank, said goodbye to its eight-year chief executive
Paul Heath, who announced that he is leaving effective mid-July.
The company is currently looking for his replacement.
French banking giant BNP Paribas beefed up its China wealth
management team with three Hong Kong hires. Joining Steven Chan,
who was named director for the China market, were Phoebe Kwong
and Chris Hui, who now serve as vice presidents. All three were
from DBS.
RBC Wealth Management announced a raft of hires for its sales and
risk management teams in the Asia-Pacific region. All are
Singapore-based. Ang Kah Han, previously from Sarasin, was made
executive director, Elizabeth Tay, previously from Deutsche Bank,
was named vice president, while Alice Tan, also from Deutsche
Bank, joined as senior manager for credit risk and strategic risk
initiatives. Also hired was Tan Chee Keong, from UBS, as head of
operational risk management, emerging markets.
Deutsche Bank appointed Pippa Lambert as global head of human
resources effective 1 July to replace Conrad Venter who has
retired. Lambert previously worked as director of global reward
at Royal Bank of Scotland. She is now based in Frankfurt and
reports to Stephan Leithner, member of the management board and
the group executive committee.