New head of FIG at ING

Gopal Menon has been appointed as the new head of ING's Financial Institutions Group in Asia. He replaces Grenville Thynne who relocated to Australia at the start of this year to take up his new position as ING's head of investment banking in Australia.

Menon was previously head of the firm's financial sponsors group and will continue to hold this responsibility as head of FIG. In his new role, he will manage a team of five professionals and will report to Malcom Brown, ING's head of Asian investment banking.

Commenting on Menon's appointment, Brown says, "Gopal brings valuable expertise in the financial services sector to the role, not only through his extensive experience around the region, but also through his recent work on a number of complex transactions such as, most recently, the sale of IBRA's holding in PT Bank Lippo."

Menon has been working with ING for over eight years. He spent the first three years in the firm's Bombay office as the head of the Indian corporate finance team before moving to Hong Kong in 1998. Prior to ING, Menon spent three years with American Express and five years with ANZ.