AsianInvestor’s weekly roundup of job-hoppers, April 27
BNY Mellon seeks Asia-Pacific head of retail distribution
Financial services firm BNY Mellon is seeking a head of retail distribution as part of its regional expansion following the arrival of Asia-Pacific CEO Alan Harden last June, AsianInvestor can confirm.
It comes as BNY Mellon, which says it has $70 billion in Asia-Pacific AUM out of $1.3 trillion globally, announced it had hired PeterPaul Pardi from private equity firm Arcapita as global head of distribution for its investment management business, based out of London.
A spokesperson for BNY Mellon, which has a presence in Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Australia and Singapore, says: “Whilst we are seeking to expand the [distribution] team, our priority in Asia-Pacific is developing a manufacturing capability in-region. This is the real story for us in Asia today.
“That said, we are currently seeking a head of retail distribution for Asia-Pacific, a brand new position, as part of our ambitious growth plans. This person will report into both PeterPaul and Alan Harden.”
The spokesperson adds that BNY Mellon is serious in its ambition to become a premier investment management firm in the region. “It’s a 10-year plus journey, but we need to move the dial significantly over the next three-to-five years and we are hiring across the board.
“We will do this by manufacturing Asia-Pacific products for Asia-Pacific investors, so by developing our Asian equity capabilities in the region, for example. It is our goal that our Asia-Pacific business mirrors the strength of our European and US businesses.”
As head of distribution, Pardi will be responsible for creating and implementing strategies for distribution, marketing and client service functions globally. He reports to Curtis Arledge, CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management, and Mitchell Harris, the firm’s president.
Previously Pardi has worked for Pimco, Lehman Brothers Investment Management and Barclays Global Investors.
BNY Mellon operates a multi-boutique model and has 16 managers under its asset management umbrella currently, which it describes as “the best way to manage money”.
Morgan Stanley hires Asia electronic trading head
Morgan Stanley has poached Gabriel Butler from Bank of America-Merrill Lynch to head electronic trading for Asia ex-Japan.
Butler was head of electronic trading sales at BoA-Merrill until he departed in late April and will start at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong this summer.
He replaces Joseph Sarcona, who was promoted to global co-head of listed derivatives for the electronic trading team for Morgan Stanley in New York. London-based Oliver Farrant will be the other co-head. They will report to Andrew Silverman and Bill Neuberger, global co-heads of electronic trading.
Butler will report to Zach Tuckwell, Asia head of electronic trading, listed derivatives and program trading, based in Hong Kong. He joined Morgan Stanley in November 2009 from agency broker ITG, where he spent seven-and-a-half years.
Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the move. BoA-Merrill also declined to comment on whether Butler would be replaced directly.
HarbourVest hires MD from JP Morgan to set up Beijing office
Private equity manager HarbourVest Partners announced it had hired Sally Shan from JP Morgan to establish a local presence for the company in Beijing.
Shan is set to join as a managing director on May 15, having spent the past six years as head of Asia technology investment banking for JP Morgan Securities Asia Pacific. She has also worked at Lehman Brothers in the US and Asia Strategic Investment Corp. in Beijing.
“Given the continued growth of opportunities in China, a local presence in the market will enhance our investment platform and relationships with institutional investors and general partners,” says Sebastiaan van den Berg, managing director of HarbourVest (Asia).
He adds that Shan’s familiarity with private equity and capital markets in China and internationally, including equity and M&A deal execution, will be a good fit for the firm.
HarbourVest Partners established a presence in Hong Kong in 1996 and in Tokyo in 2010. It has committed more than $2.4 billion in Asia over the past three decades to fund managers, secondary transactions and direct co-investments.
The firm provides programmes for institutional investors to invest in venture capital, buyout, mezzanine debt and distressed debt. Including its subsidiaries it has over 240 staff, featuring 80 investment professionals deployed in Boston, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bogota.
A spokesperson for JP Morgan declined to comment on Shan 's replacement.
Alvarez and Marsal names Packham as disputes director in Beijing
Multinational business advisory firm Alvarez and Marsal announced it had appointed Harvey Packham as a director with its global forensic and dispute (GFD) services business in Beijing.
Neill Poole, managing director of its GFD business, says Packham’s hire demonstrates the firm’s commitment to this business in Asia, and mainland China in particular.
“Growing foreign direct investment into mainland China and even higher growth of outbound investment is generating an increasing amount of cross-border commercial disputes and investigations that can be compounded by misunderstandings in legal and business cultures and corporate governance,” says Poole.
Prior to moving to China in 2009, Packham was a principal at CRA Lee & Allen in London, where his work included forensic accounting and disputes advisory.
Other moves reported by AsianInvestor in the past week:
MSCI appoints Korea office head from Samsung AM