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.

 

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.