Toong joins Clariden Leu as its first Asia chairman

Kenneth Toong has left Deutsche Private Wealth Management to join Swiss private bank Clariden Leu as its first chairman for Asia in Hong Kong, effective October 1.

At Deutsche, Toong was head of North Asia based in Hong Kong, and was succeeded in late August by Lok Yim.

Toong will support Clariden Leu's head of Asia Jimmy Lee and help drive the firm's strategic development in the region. The private bank has 125 staff in Asia and is looking to hire front-line, platform and product specialists, says Lee, and its target markets include Greater China, India, Indonesia and Singapore.

"Clariden Leu regards Asia as one of its key markets for future growth and is keen to expand its footprint in the region," he adds. "Kenneth Toong's appointment affirms that Clariden Leu is well positioned to face the next stages of the bank's development phase in Asia-Pacific."

Toong had been head of private wealth management for North Asia at Deutsche Bank for 10 years, and before that he worked for three years as head of private banking for North Asia at Bankers Trust.

He began his career at JP Morgan, where he held various management positions in Belgium, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Toong has more than 30 years of experience in the financial industry.

Clariden Leu's global assets under management as of June 30 totalled Sfr101 billion ($98.6 billion); it does not break down AUM by region.