Weekly roundup of people news, April 21
FUTURE FUND HIRES PRIVATE EQUITY HEAD
Australia's sovereign wealth fund, Future Fund Management Agency, has appointed Sydney-based David Bluff as its head of private equity.
Bluff is the former country head of Australian private equity of the Carlyle Group’s local team and was with the US investment giant for 14 years before stepping down from the role last year.
Bluff will report to Alicia Gregory, who was the previous head of PE until her promotion to deputy chief investment officer in 2021.
Gregory joined Future Fund in 2019 and is now one of its three chief investment officers.
Carlye hired Geoff Hutchinson in October 2022 to replace Bluff as head of private equity in Australia and New Zealand.
MAS CHIEF EXPECTED TO STEP DOWN
Ravi Menon, the Monetary Authority of Singapore chief, is poised to leave the central bank this year, according to people familiar with the matter, a Bloomberg report said.
Menon has been MAS head since 2011. His term ends on May 31.
Chia Der Jiun, one of his former deputies, is tipped to be his successor, the Bloomberg report said, citing unnamed sources.
When asked for comment, MAS asked AsianInvestor to contact the Public Service Division (PSD).
The PSD did not respond to an AsianInvestor enquiry for an official statement.
APG PORTFOLIO MANAGER TO LEAVE HONG KONG
Hong Kong-based Jean-Paul Koopmans will soon be leaving APG Asset Management Asia, AsianInvestor understands.
He has been a portfolio manager for emerging market equities at the Dutch pension fund manager since 2012.
Since August 2017, Koopmans was also involved in blockchain related projects and ideation at the fund.
Koopmans will relocate to the Netherlands and his role will be absorbed by his team, AsianInvestor understands.
APG had $577 billion in assets under management as of September 2022, with approximately $30 billion of those assets managed by its Asia branch.
Janice Wu, head of sales (official institutions) APAC ex-Japan for asset manager LGIM, is leaving in July after 10 years, a company spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
The marketing and distribution responsibilities will continue to be supported by the LGIM Asia team, the spokesperson said.
Wu joined LGIM in 2013 from State Street Global Investors.
Jackson Loi, who was appointed head of institutional sales for Asia ex-Japan in September 2021, will continue to lead distribution efforts focused on Asia’s institutional asset owners, the spokesperson added.
Loi reports to Natasha Mora, managing director, LGIM Asia.
Loi has previously worked with Vanguard, Bank of Canada and WTW.
This story has been updated to reflect new information in para 1 and para 5.
Eastspring Investments named chief investment officer Bill Maldonado as interim chief executive officer, effective April 6.
This follows CEO Seck Wai-kwong’s decision to retire after four years with the firm.
Seck will remain with Eastspring until the end of June to support Maldonado and the executive team.
Seck joined Eastspring as CEO in April 2019 from State Street, where he was Asia-Pacific CEO for over seven years.
Maldonado joined Eastspring in August 2021 as head of equities and became CIO in June 2022. He will retain the CIO role to focus on investment performance.
Maldonado chairs the Eastspring Executive Management Committee and reports to Anil Wadhwani, CEO of Prudential.
Prior to joining Eastspring in Singapore, he was with HSBC Global Asset Management in Hong Kong.
WELLINGTON TAPS INVESTMENT STRATEGIST FROM FRANKLIN TEMPLETON
Franklin Templeton’s former emerging markets equity portfolio manager Alistair MacDonald has left after over ten years with the firm and joined Wellington Management as investment strategist, Wellington Management confirmed with AsianInvestor.
MacDonald will continue to be based in Singapore.
He will work closely with Wellington’s portfolio managers and macro analysts, covering a variety of strategies and asset classes across equities, fixed income and alternative investments.
MacDonald joined in February and reports to Samuel Hui, managing director, Asia Pacific, global wealth management group.
He replaces another person who retired from the firm at the end of March, the firm told AsianInvestor.
He joined Franklin Templeton in 2012 as product manager in Singapore and was most recently senior vice president and institutional portfolio manager for Franklin Templeton emerging markets equity until January.
Franklin Templeton is hiring for his replacement, while responsibilities are being shared among the team in the interim, the firm told AsianInvestor.
Franklin Templeton named Benjarong Techamuanvivit to the newly created role of head of Thailand business.
Techamuanvivit will report to Christian Bucaro, head of retail for Asia at Franklin Templeton.
Relocated from Bangkok to Singapore, Techamuanvivit will work closely with the regional team to lead sales strategy, as well as grow the firm’s business in Thailand.
She will partner with Sweta Dugar, Franklin Templeton’s head of institutional business, Southeast Asia (ex-Malaysia), who will continue to lead relationships with institutional investors, excluding local asset managers, in Thailand.
Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, she was the deputy managing director, head of corporate strategy, product, digital and marketing at Eastspring Asset Management (Thailand).
She has also worked with Kasikorn Asset Management, Manulife Asset Management (Thailand), Deutsche Bank and Citibank.
Eastspring did not respond to AsianInvestor enquries about Techamuanvivit’s replacement.
STATE STREET APAC CEO TAKES ON MIDDLE EAST RESPONSIBILITIES
Mostapha Tahiri, Asia Pacific chief executive officer of State Street, has taken on additional responsibilities to lead the company’s Middle East business, effective mid-April.
Tahiri will serve as head of the Middle East along with his current responsibilities for the Asia Pacific region.
Oliver Berger, based in Abu Dhabi, and responsible for State Street's Middle East business, will report to Tahiri, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Tahiri will be responsible for all business activities for the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.
Based in Singapore, Tahiri will continue to report dually to Andrew Erickson, chief productivity officer and head of international business, and Lou Maiuri, president, chief operating officer and head of investment services.
Prior to joining State Street, Tahiri worked in numerous leadership positions at BNP Paribas for 20 years, including Asia Pacific chief executive officer of BNP Paribas Securities Services.
JLL APPOINTS APAC SUSTAINABILITY CONSULTING HEAD
Real estate advisory and investment management firm JLL has appointed Elke Kornalijnslijper as head of sustainability consulting, Asia Pacific.
Based in Singapore, she will be responsible for delivering sustainability advice and solutions for JLL’s client base in Asia Pacific and managing100 real estate sustainability experts across 11 regional markets.
She reports to Gregory Bolino, global head of sustainability strategy and assets.
The role is newly positioned, and there have been similar roles in the organisation, but none like this, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor. The spokesperson did not specify who held these roles prior to Kornalijnslijper.
Kornalijnslijper started her role in the first quarter of 2023, the spokersperson said. She was previously head of energy and sustainability services, Southeast Asia, at JLL.
Prior to joining JLL in January 2022, she was head of strategy and research and development for SP Digital, part of Singapore’s largest utility provider, SP Group. Kornalijnslijper has previously worked at the Hong Kong utilities provider, CLP Group.
She brings over 15 years of sustainability, new energy, proptech and cleantech experience to her new role.
CBC GROUP ADD TO MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Annie Lee has been appointed to the management committee of Singapore-headquartered CBC Group.
Her appointment to the management committee is an addition to the senior leadership team, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Lee joined CBC Group in August 2020 as head of pharma based in Shanghai. She reports to CEO Fu Wei.
She was previously with pharmaceutical company BMS, where she headed the China Opdivo business unit and was also general manager of BMS Taiwan.
Earlier in April, the asset manager also appointed healthcare industry veteran Abbas Hussain as operating partner.
Hussain has worked with pharmaceutical groups such as GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly and CSL Vifor.
In his new role, Hussain will work with CBC’s business teams to identify and pursue investment opportunities and strategic acquisitions to enhance the value of the firm’s portfolio.
CBC Group is an alternative investment manager with a focus on healthcare. It has a private equity, private capital, real assets and venture capital fund.
MLC LIFE HIRES BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT HEAD
MLC Life has appointed Peter Smith as its head of business development.
Smith, based in Sydney, and will be responsible for growing MLC Life’s group insurance distribution and integrating new digital capabilities for customers.
He previously worked in leadership roles with companies such as Resolution Life, Munich Re, Lockton and MetLife, and played an instrumental role in delivering insurance solutions for funds like Hostplus, Cbus, Rest and First Super.
MLC Life did not respond to an AsianInvestor enquiry on who was in Smith's role previously.