Weekly roundup of people news, Dec 6
Goodwin exits JP Morgan AM for Indian property firm
Tyler Goodwin recently left JP Morgan Asset Management’s global real assets group in Hong Kong to join Indian property developer Lodha Group.
He will join Lodha in January as chief executive of its UK business, a new role created by the Mumbai-based real estate developer as part of its plan to expand its foreign property portfolio.
Goodwin is relocating to London from Hong Kong, where he had been with JP Morgan AM since 2010 as head of Asian client strategy.
A spokesperson from JP Morgan AM declined to comment on any possible replacement for Goodwin.
Vanguard appoints investment strategy head
US fund house Vanguard has named Jeffrey Johnson to lead its Asia-Pacific investment strategy and research team. He will move from Malvern, Pennsylvania to Melbourne in January to oversee a team of four investment analysts and economists.
He replaces Roger Diaz, who has been with the firm since 2007, most recently in Melbourne. Diaz will move back to Pennsylvania in January to take on a senior economist role in the investment strategy group.
Johnson joined Vanguard in 2000 and his most recent position was senior investment analyst in the portfolio review department. As such, he was responsible for fund and manager oversight, due diligence, product management and development, institutional client service and co-management of a team of investment analysts.
The firm’s manager search team, comprising seven senior analysts and 15 investment analysts, will absorb Johnson’s role in the US.
M&G Real Estate appoints Korea head
UK-based property investor M&G Real Estate has hired Ryu Hye-sik to head its South Korean business.
Ryu joined in October, from Hyundai Securities, where he oversaw project financing, loan structuring and the acquisition of real estate assets. He has also worked at the Korea Development Bank and at real estate investment trust firms Koramco and Ascendas.
His position is new; his duties previously fell within Asia CEO Scott Girard’s remit.
Ryu will work directly with the property fund and asset management teams and oversee the firm’s deal-sourcing capabilities in Seoul. The firm invests in high quality office, retail and industrial real estate assets in Australia, Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore.
M&G Real Estate falls under M&G Investments, part of UK insurance group Prudential, and also has offices in Singapore and Tokyo. Its Asia-Pacific-sourced assets total $1.75 billion.
Mercer names Asean market leader
Mercer has hired Lisa Sun as managing director and market leader for Asean based in Singapore, effective November 4.
She joins from Zurich Insurance Group where she held a similar position from January 2005 through October 2013. She reports to Gaurav Garg, Mercer’s Asia president for growth markets.
Sun replaces Wong Su-Yen, who will take on the newly created role of senior adviser to Mercer and sister consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Wong will remain in Singapore and work closely with Mercer and Oliver Wyman to develop business opportunities across the companies.
Zurich Insurance did not have a response by press time as to whether Sun has been replaced.
Towers Watson bulks out Down Under
Towers Watson has hired two investment consultants and three analysts in Australia, which the firm says are all newly created roles.
Craig Mercer re-joined the firm’s Sydney office in November as a senior hedge fund and alternatives consultant. Most recently he worked at Dalton Investments as head of its London office and chairman of its risk committee. Before, Mercer worked at Towers Watson from December 2005 through April 2011 in both London and Hong Kong.
Sean O’Shea also joined in Sydney in October as an investment consultant. He previously held senior positions at Challenger Financial Services, Apostle Asset Management and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Meanwhile, Sean Hollins joined Towers Watson in Melbourne in September as a senior investment analyst on its client consulting team. Most recently he held a similar role in PwC also in Melbourne.
Finally, Chris Tran came on board in Sydney as an investment analyst, while Bhushan Chiniah joined in Melbourne as a graduate investment analyst. Both Tran and Chiniah joined in October.
Global Sage builds out wealth practice
Headhunting firm Global Sage has named Geoffrey Bevan a director in Hong Kong to cover North Asia and Asean private banking, effective October.
He has six years' search experience in Asia, specialising in private wealth management at Morgan McKinley in Hong Kong. Bevan formerly worked as a relationship manager at RBS and Barclays, also in Hong Kong.
Global Sage also hired John Meeks on December 2 as head of the wealth management and family office practice based in New York. He previously helped open a New York office for Charles Sterling Group, a boutique search firm, and before that he worked in private wealth recruitment at Goldman Sachs in the same city, where he oversaw hiring for 12 offices across the US and Latin America.
Global Sage will also open an office in Zurich next year. There is not a firm headcount yet for the soon-to-open Swiss office.
Australia's Vision Super names CEO
Melbourne-based Vison Super, the A$7 billion ($6.3 billion) superannuation fund for Victoria’s regional water industry, has named Stephen Rowe as chief executive, effective from January.
Rowe was most recently general manager and CEO of Super SA, the South Australian Public Sector Superannuation Scheme, which has A$16.7 billion in AUM. His 30-year career spanned both public and private sectors.
He replaces Peter Rowe (no relation) at Vison Super, who has been interim CEO since August last year, in addition to his role as chief operating officer. He will drop the interim CEO duties at the start of the year.
Super SA did not respond by press time to queries as to whether Stephen has been or would be replaced.
Withers expands regional wealth practice
Law firm Withers has relocated three lawyers to its wealth planning practice in Asia.
Suzanne Johnston and Connie Yik Kong will join in Singapore to assist rich individuals and families with wealth planning solutions. Johnston moved from London in July and Kong from New York in September.
In addition, Karen Lai moved to Hong Kong from London in October to focus on trust structures tax and succession planning for families, as well as trustee and charity matters.
Other people moves reported in AsianInvestor this week:
Towers Watson loses Malaysia investments head
BNY Mellon targets Singapore buildout
Asia head of consulting exits Russell Investments
Bosera AM targets global, HK expansion