Weekly roundup of people news, Jan 6
SSGA hires SE Asia head of client relationships
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) has appointed James Ong as head of client relationship management for Southeast Asia. He replaces Sally Choo, who left the firm in June to join French fund house Amundi as Southeast Asia head of institutional sales.
Based in Singapore, Ong joined on November 29 and reports to June Wong, Hong Kong-based head of Asia ex-Japan at SSGA.
Ong was most recently at HSBC Global Asset Management, where he was a client director looking after Southeast Asian institutions. His responsibilities are being shared among the client-servicing team until a replacement is identified, said an HSBC spokesperson.
Before joining HSBC, Ong held a similar role covering institutional business at Singapore's UOB Asset Management.
Indosuez WM names new Asia CEO
Indosuez Wealth Management, the private banking arm of French bank Credit Agricole, has appointed Pierre Masclet as chief executive for Asia, effective January 1.
He also becomes the bank’s branch manager in Singapore to replace Sui Sen, who has been named commercial head for Asia and remains based in Singaopre.
Masclet (pictured left) was most recently head of markets and investment solutions at Indosuez WM in Geneva, having spent 25 years with the group. His replacement has not been announced yet.
The Asia CEO and commercial head roles are both newly created, reflecting Indosuez’s ambitions and strategic priorities in the region, a spokesperson said.
The change has created new reporting lines to Masclet.
Previously, Antoine Candiotti, head of Indosuez WM’s Hong Kong business, and Sui both reported to Jean-Francois Deroche, Geneva-based CEO of Credit Agricole Indosuez (Switzerland).
Candiotti now reports to Masclet, and Sui to both Masclet and Patrick Ramsey, Geneva-based head of wealth management at Credit Agricole Indosuez (Switzerland). Masclet reports to Deroche.
HSBC PB adds Indonesia coverage
HSBC Private Bank has expanded its Indonesia coverage by adding a new team. Under the new structure, there will be two teams for Indonesia led by market heads Ingrid Widjaja and Lim Chee Kong, respectively.
Widjaja continues to manage an existing team, while Lim (pictured right) will head a newly created team. Before joining HSBC, he was Indonesia team head at UBS Wealth Management in Singapore.
David Ng and Chay Hong Leng have also been appointed desk heads for Indonesia. Ng and Chay, will report to Widjaja and Lim, respectively. The desk heads are responsible for managing and providing guidance to relationship managers in cultivating and deepening client relationships.
All the appointments are based in Singapore and were effective January 3.
The firm said the expansion reflected its commitment to growing its business and enhancing its client-servicing capabilities in Southeast Asia.
Ng was previously head of ultra-high-net-worth investment counselling for Southeast Asia at HSBC PB. The firm declined to comment on who would replace him.
Chay joined from UBS WM in Singapore, where he was most recently desk head in the Indonesia and Jakarta representative office.
UBS declined to comment on the departures of Lim and Chay.
Both Lim and Widjaja are responsible for business development and report to Sandeep Sharma, Singapore-based head of global private banking for Southeast Asia.
Widjaja was promoted to market head for Indonesia in November, having been desk head before Ng’s appointment. The bank declined to comment on whom Widjaja replaced as market head.
The firm declined to comment on whether anyone had left the Indonesia desk in recent months or what the headcount of the Indonesia teams was before and after the appointments.
StanChart SEA investment advisory head exits
Mario Becker, previously head of investment advisory for Southeast Asia at Standard Chartered Private Bank, has left the firm. He was managing ultra-high-net-worth clients in Singapore. The bank confirmed his departure but declined to comment further.
According to Asian Private Banker, Becker has served seven years at the firm. He previously worked for Deutsche Bank’s wealth management division.
UBS WM reshuffles Asean team
UBS Wealth Management has reorganised its set-up for Southeast Asia in a bid to become more efficient.
Vinay Gandhi, regional market manager for India, Indochina, the Philippines and global investors. He left the bank last month and his responsibilities have been spread among the team.
Under the new structure, effective this month, Jeremy McAteer, Foo Tian Ong, Henk DeGlint and Eddie Gan – market heads for the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, respectively – will report to August Hatecke, head of wealth management for Southeast Asia. They are all based in Singapore.
Philip Kunz will continue reporting to Hatecke as market head for Indonesia, but will take on additional responsibility supporting 'strategic transformation projects' in Southeast Asia. The bank did not clarify what such projects would entail.
Before the reorganisation, McAteer, Foo, DeGlint and Gan had either reported to Kunz or Gandhi.
Credit Suisse names Cavalli Singapore CEO
Credit Suisse has promoted Benjamin Cavalli, head of Singapore for private banking and head of Southeast Asia, to the additional role of Singapore chief executive.
He assumes the role from Lito Camacho, who will remain in his role as vice chairman for Asia Pacific. Cavalli reports to Francesco de Ferrari, head of private banking for Asia Pacific and CEO for Southeast Asia.
Deutsche AM appoints CIO for responsible investments
Deutsche Asset Management appointed Petra Pflaum as chief investment officer for responsible investments on January 4, based in Frankfurt. She will also continue in her role as head of equities for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In her newly created role, Pflaum (pictured left) will manage a dedicated environmental, social and governance (ESG) team responsible for the further integration of Deutsche AM’s ESG capabilities into its investment processes and expanding its range of client offerings, the firm said.
The existing ESG thematic research and governance teams will report to her. Deutsche AM’s ESG research, including its centre for sustainable finance, was established in 2015 under Michael Lewis, who left the firm in early 2016.
Other people news reported by AsianInvestor in the past week:
KBAM rehires CEO, eyes foreign expansion
KTPF hires former Allianz Korea head as CIO