Weekly roundup of people news, Nov 11
Fidelity appoints new Singapore head
Fidelity International has appointed Ben Waterhouse as head of intermediary business for Southeast Asia and the Middle East as well as country head for Singapore. The appointment will be effective in January and he will report to Daisy Ho, who was recently promoted to managing director for Asia ex-Japan.
Waterhouse will relocate from London, where he is UK head of wholesale business. He joined Fidelity in August 2010, after 10 years at UK-based Legal & General Investment Management leading distribution in the intermediary market.
Waterhouse will effectively replace Mike Nikou, managing director for Southeast Asia and head of intermediary business for Asia ex-Japan. Nikou is moving to another role, but will remain in Singapore until the end of 2016 to help with the smooth transition.
Fullerton CEO and CIO departs
Singapore's Fullerton Fund Management has confirmed that Manraj Sekhon, formerly chief executive and chief investment officer, has left the firm. Fullerton chairman Ho Tian Yee will assume his responsibilities in the interim.
Sekhon (pictured left) departed after five years with Fullerton, a subsidiary of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings. The search for his replacement is under way and announcements will be made in due course.
Fullerton's spokesperson declined to comment on the reasons for Sekhon's departure, citing company policy.
AsianInvestor could not ascertain by press time where Sekhon might have gone.
Credit Suisse appoints Asia property head
Credit Suisse has appointed Chris Chiang as Asia-Pacific head of real estate investment management, the bank's direct property investment arm. He joins from CBRE Capital Advisors, where he was senior director.
Chiang replaces Benjamin Tan at Credit Suisse, who in February joined property services firm Savills as regional director of capital markets in Singapore.
Chiang remains in Singapore and reports to Daniel Tochtermann, head of international real estate acquisition and sales.
Chiang will lead efforts to grow the property portfolio and source investment opportunities in the region for direct investment vehicles and ultra-high-net-worth clients.
He has 16 years' experience in real estate investment banking, private equity and debt capital markets and general corporate finance advisory across Asia Pacific.
CBRE declined to comment on Chiang's departure.
MetLife names new Hong Kong CEO
US insurance firm MetLife has appointed Lee Wood as Hong Kong chief executive, effective on November 7. Wood replaces Lennard Yong, who left in September to join Hong Kong-based insurer FTLife as Asia CEO.
Wood (pictured right) joined from Allianz Taiwan Life Insurance, where he was senior vice president, with responsibility for marketing, product development and direct marketing. He left Allianz Life on November 6, and Taiwan CEO Danny Lam has assumed his duties for the time being.
He now reports to Damien Green, who oversees MetLife's Asia business.
Wood has 15 years experience in the insurance industry. He has also worked at HSBC Life, ING Antai Life in Taiwan, AIG Insurance in Indonesia and Axa Life Insurance in Japan.
ShawKwei adds Hong Kong MD
ShawKwei & Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, has appointed Peter Ko as managing director, a newly created role effective last week. He was most recently head of private equity at H&Q Asia-Pacific.
Ko is responsible for sourcing investment opportunities, leading investment analysis and deal documentation and managing portfolio companies. He reports to Kyle Shaw, founder and managing director of ShawKwei, also based in Hong Kong.
Ko has 25 years of private equity experience focused on Asia Pacific, including executing cross-border investments at Asian Oceanic Group, undertaking buyouts at William E. Simon & Sons (Asia) and working in senior investment roles at H&Q Asia Pacific.
Old Mutual International names HK sales head
Wealth advisory firm Old Mutual International, part of UK-based Old Mutual Wealth, has appointed Ivy Lee as head of business development for the Hong Kong domestic market, effective on November 4.
Lee (pictured left) joins from Friends Provident International, where she was regional sales manager. FPI declined to comment on her departure.
She reports to Mark Christal, Hong Kong chief executive of Old Mutual International, and works alongside Fred Wong, Hong Kong head of distribution development.
Lee’s role is newly created, with a view to building Old Mutual International's business in the domestic adviser market, a spokesperson said.
Hong Kong is a strategic focus for Old Mutual International as the local wealth management sector continues to grow in size and significance, the company said in a statement.
HSBC PB appoints Singapore team head
HSBC Private Bank has appointed Chow Shang-Wei as market head for its domestic Singapore team, effective November 3. It is understood he will report to Sandeep Sharma, Southeast Asia head.
Chow joined from UBS Wealth Management, where he was an executive director in the Indonesia team. It is understood that his role has been filled, but UBS declined to say by whom.
HSBC declined to comment on whether Chow had replaced anyone. He is responsible for business development and deepening existing client relationships.
Chow has around 15 years of experience managing client relationships and wealth portfolios in Asia.
Sarasin adds client advisory MD in Singapore
Bank J. Safra Sarasin has appointed Sutarmin Lili as managing director of client advisory in Singapore, effective November 8. He reports to Benedikt Maissen, chief executive for Singapore.
Lili’s role is newly created, a spokesperson said. He will manage a team primarily covering the Indonesia and Southeast Asian markets, but the bank did not make clear who ran this desk previously.
Lili (pictured right) joined from Julius Baer in Singapore, where he had been a managing director since 2010 covering Indonesia. The Swiss private bank declined to comment on his departure.
He has also worked for UBS, PT Bank Lippo and Bank Paribas Indonesia.