Fidelity hires Asia-Pacific product development head

Investment manager Fidelity International has created the post of Asia-Pacific head of product development and hired Doug Walls, formerly a senior BlackRock executive, to fill it.

The move is part of Fidelity’s plan to expand its product suite for clients in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.

Walls starts in the role today in Hong Kong, working closely with Mike Nikou, managing director of Fidelity International, who oversees the Asia-Pacific wholesale business, and Judy Marlinski, president for Japan.

All existing product teams in Asia-Pacific now report to Walls, who in turn reports to Paolo Federici, global head of product at Fidelity International.

Walls has 15 years’ experience in product development in the asset management industry.

He left BlackRock in December 2014, after serving as Asia-Pacific head of product strategy and innovation in Sydney. Since then he has been providing “strategic advice to large Australian asset management companies, entrepreneurial social media ventures and other private ventures”, according to his LinkedIn page.

Before joining BlackRock in 2011, Walls was Australia head of product development at Barclays Global Investors. 

Bermuda-headquartered Fidelity International is a separate, independent entity from US-based Fidelity Investments, with both owned by the founding Johnson family.