Weekly roundup of people moves, Apr 27
EX-STANDARD LIFE INVESTMENTS’ HEAD OF ASIA EXITS
The former head of Asia at Standard Life Investments, David Peng, has left the recently-merged company, AsianInvestor has learnt.
Peng left at the end of March, a spokewoman for Aberdeen Standard Investments told AsianInvestor. He had first joined SLI in February 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Veteran investor Hugh Young has been named head of Asia Pacific for Aberdeen Standard Investments, she added.
Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life completed their merger in August 2017 to become Standard Life Aberdeen, the UK’s largest active asset manager. Young was the head of Asia for Aberdeen Asset Management, before last year's merger.
CPPIB PROMOTES HEAD OF ASIA
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) will promote Suyi Kim to senior managing director and head of Asia Pacific.
In the Hong Kong-based role, Kim will be responsible for overseeing CPPIB’s significant and growing portfolio of investments in the region. She is now the managing director and head of Asia, a position she has held since June 2016.
At the same time, Deborah Orida is appointed senior managing director and global head of active equities, and will be responsible for leading active fundamental equities and thematic investing.
Based in Hong Kong, Orida is now the managing director and head of private equity for Asia.
The two appointments will be effective on June 1. CPPIB declined to comment on their reporting lines and who would replace them after their promotions.
HKEX APPOINTS LAURA CHA AS CHAIRWOMAN
The board of directors of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) appointed Laura Cha as its chairwoman on April 26.
Chow Chung-kong, the former chairman, stepped down from the position on April 25 after finishing his six-year term.
Cha is also a member of Hong Kong's Executive Council—effectively the city's cabinet—and the Financial Services Development Council. She has also served as a non-executive director of HKEX.
Cha’s appointment is pending the written approval of Carrie Lam, chief executive of Hong Kong.
MAS APPOINTS NEW BOARD MEMBER, RESHUFFLES EXECS
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has appointed Chaly Mah as a member of its board.
Mah, chairman of NetLink NBN Trust, was previously chief executive of Deloitte Asia Pacific and Deloitte Southeast Asia and chairman of Deloitte Singapore.
His appointment will run from May 1, 2018, to May 31, 2020, the central bank said in a media statement.
A spokeswoman for NetLink said Mah would continue in his role as NetLinkNBN Trust’s chairman and independent director alongside his MAS appointment.
Deputy Prime Minister and coordinating minister for economic and social policies, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will be re-appointed as chairman of the MAS board, the statement said.
The central bank also announced a series of senior executive changes, effective June 1.
Ng Yao Loong, currently executive director (markets policy and infrastructure), will be appointed assistant managing director (development and international). He will take over the position from Leong Sing Chiong.
Leong will be appointed as assistant managing director (markets and investment). He will take over the position from Chia Der Jiun.
Chia will be appointed assistant managing director (corporate, HR & IT services). He will take over the position from Ng Nam Sin, who will become full-time chief executive of the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore, a post he peviously held alongside his job at MAS.
ABERDEEN STANDARD APPOINTS DISTRIBUTION HEADS FOR APAC, INDONESIA
Aberdeen Standard Investments has appointed Andrew Hendry (left) as head of distribution for Asia Pacific.
He will officially take up the Singapore-based role in May and will jointly report to Campbell Fleming, London-based global head of distribution, and Hugh Young, Singapore-based head of Asia Pacific.
He replaces Alexis Ng who has left the company this month, according to a company spokesman.
Hendry was most recently the managing director at Westoun Advisors, and his last day at the company has not yet been confirmed. His client coverage will be the responsibility of managing director Jaime Corredor after his departure, according to a company spokeswoman at Westoun Advisors.
Separately, Aberdeen Standard hired Omar Anwar as country head and head of distribution for Indonesia last month. Anwar was also appointed as the president director of PT Aberdeen Asset Management, a subsidiary of Aberdeen Asset Management in Indonesia last week.
Based in Jakarta, Anwar leads a 32-strong team across Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. He reports to Ian Macdonald, ASI’s Singapore-based deputy head of Asia Pacific. Anwar replaces Sigit Wiryadi, who retired in March.
He was previously senior executive advisor at PT Nomura Sekuritas Indonesia, a position he left last year. Nomura declined to comment on his departure.
CREDIT SUISSE APPOINTS NEW APAC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT HEAD
Credit Suisse has appointed Jacqueline Koo as regional head of investment management for Asia Pacific, effective May 1.
Based in Hong Kong, she takes over from Warren Hastings, who is relocating to Zurich to become head of investment management for Europe at Credit Suisse.
Koo joined the Swiss firm in 2017 as head of investment management for Hong Kong.
In the expanded role, she heads the Credit Suisse investment management team, which provides discretionary portfolio management services, ranging from multi-asset class mandates to customised solutions for Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific’s ultra-high-net-worth clients, across regions including Greater China, Southeast Asia and India.
In her new role, Koo will report to Bjorn Jesch, global head of investment management, investment solutions and products in Credit Suisse’s international wealth management division.
CITI PB APPOINTS MARKET MANAGER FOR THAILAND, MALAYSIA
Citi Private Bank has appointed Timothy Morse as global market manager (GMM) for Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei with immediate effect.
Morse, based in Singapore, reports to Jyrki Rauhio, Citi Private Bank’s South Asia head.
In this role, he is responsible for growing Citi Private Bank’s business in Thailand and Malaysia as well as for overseeing client strategy in Brunei.
He will lead and manage the respective country teams of private wealth managers and focus on deepening existing and building new relationships with the bank’s ultra-high-net-worth clients in these markets, Citi said in a statement.
Morse was previously team leader for the Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia markets at JP Morgan Private Bank, where he had worked since 2011.
A spokeswoman for JP Morgan Private Bank said no direct replacement had been made for Morse.
Morse had also previously worked with Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management.
In February, Citi Private Bank appointed Adam Proctor as GMM for Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, and Simon Kastono as GMM for Indonesia earlier this month, both of whom also report to Rauhio.
The appointments are part of a new organisational structure announced in December 2017, following the departure of Bassem Salem.
ST JAMES’S PLACE APPOINTS PARTNER IN HONG KONG
St James’s Place Wealth Management Asia has appointed Sally Wright as a Hong Kong-based partner in the company, effective April 16.
Wright focuses on providing wealth management solutions to high-net-worth individuals and families in Hong Kong, the company said. She reports to Ian Burns, head of business for Hong Kong.
It is a newly created role, a company spokesman said, without saying who was responsible for the duties now taken up by Wright before she came on board.
Wright was previously managing director and head of discretionary portfolio management for Asia at UBP, according to her LinkedIn profile. UBP declined to comment on her departure.
NIKKO AM APPOINTS BOARD CHAIRMAN
Japanese fund house Nikko Asset Management has named Yoichiro Iwama as chairman of the board of directors and outside director.
Effective May 15, Tokyo-based Iwama will take on the role of board chairman, as well as becoming one of four outside directors appointed to provide feedback on management decision making, a Nikko spokesman said.
He replaces David Semaya as chairman, who stepped down on March 31, said the spokesman. Nikko declined to comment on his next steps. A LinkedIn profile said he was now an executive advisor to Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.
Iwama was most recently chairman of the Japan Securities Investment Advisers Association (JIAA), until his departure in 2017, the Nikko spokesman said.
He has been replaced by Akiyoshi Oba as chairman of the organisation, according to the JIAA website.
POINT72 AM NAMES CO-CIO
US asset manager Point72 Asset Management has promoted Harry Schwefel to co-chief investment officer.
Schwefel started in April, and he shares the co-CIO role with chairman and chief executive Steve Cohen.
He is based in Stamford, Connecticut, and he was most recently portfolio manager with Point72, covering the consumer sector.
Point72 declined to comment on whether he was replacing anyone, or if this is a newly created role.
The US asset manager has been aggressively growing in Asia Pacific over the last couple years, hiring at least seven investment professionals in Hong Kong last year, with plans to double its Japan headcount in the next few years.
Cohen was banned from running external money for two years starting in January 2016, after SAC Capital Advisors, the hedge fund group he founded, was hit with insider trading charges in late 2013.
Other people news reported by AsianInvestor in the past week:
Pimco seeking licence, staff for new Taiwan operation