Weekly roundup of people news, April 4
CIC RINGS CHANGES AT THE TOP
China Investment Corporation (CIC) has appointed Peng Chun as chairman and Ju Weimin as general manager, a source familiar with the sovereign wealth fund told AsianInvestor.
Peng will replace Ding Xuedong, who left CIC in February 2017 to join China's State Council. In the interim, CIC’s retiring general manager, Tu Guangshao, had effectively overseen the sovereign wealth fund.
Peng is currently chairman of Bank of Communications, while Ju was an executive vice president at CIC, according to media reports. It is not clear when either of them will take up their new roles.
CIC did not respond to any requests for comment.
BLACKROCK TO NAME NEW ASIA INSTO HEAD AMID GLOBAL OVERHAUL
As part of a global leadership overhaul, BlackRock is set to name a new head of Asia-Pacific client business after appointing the incumbent, Andrew Landman, as head of Australasia, effective from June. He will replace Dominik Rohe, who wil become head of Latin America.
Landman's successor will be appointed in due course, according to a press release.
BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink announced the global reshuffle in a memo on Tuesday (April 2), according to media reports.
As part of the changes, head of Americas Mark McCombe will take on the additional newly created title of chief client officer, according to reports.
Edwin Conway, who previously oversaw BlackRock's institutional coverage globally, will become global head of the alternatives business.
Jim Barry, the firm’s head of real assets, will become investment chief for the group.
FIDELITY LOSES HK HEAD OF INTERMEDIARIES
Priscilla Leung left her role as Hong Kong head of intermediary business at Fidelity International, a Bermuda-based fund house, AsianInvestor has learned.
Her last day was last week, and she is understood to be moving to another asset manager, said an industry source, but AsianInvestor could not ascertain which one. She had been with Fidelity since August 2007.
Fidelity confirmed Leung's departure but declined to comment further.
AIA AUSTRALIA NAMES HEAD OF INNOVATION
Hong Kong-based insurer AIA has appointed Kelly Smith as head of innovation for its Australian business. Based in Melbourne, she took up the role in late 2018, said an AIA spokesman, declining to confirm a precise date or whom she reports to.
In the newly created role, Smith will help develop new products and client solutions across Australia and New Zealand. The spokesman declined to say how the role was handled before or why the new position was needed now.
Prior to joining AIA, she was with Hesta Superannuation Fund as general manager of operations and insurance experience.
Hesta did not reply to an emailed request for comment on Smith’s departure.
COFACE ROTATES HEADS IN SINGAPORE AND AUSTRALIA
French credit insurer Coface has made three new appointments across Australia and Singapore, effectively immediately.
The firm has named Chris Little as Melbourne-based country manager for Australia, succeeding Graham Crozier, who has become country manager for Singapore.
Crozier replaces Samuel Jesuratnam, who has been promoted to Asia-Pacific head of claims and debt collection, a spokesman told AsianInvestor.
Crozier and Little report to Bhupesh Gupta, Singapore-based chief executive of Asia Pacific, the spokesman said.
Little was previously head of the commercial department at Coface Australia and has been replaced by Jemma Boyle, who is based in Sydney and was previously account manager.
MSIG NAMES CRAIG ELLIS AS SINGAPORE CEO
Japanese insurance firm MSIG has appointed Craig Ellis as chief executive of its Singapore business as of April 1. He succeeds Michael Gourlay, who will be leaving to pursue personal interests, according to a press release.
Ellis joins from Hong Kong-based independent life broker Charles Monat Associates, where he was most recently global head of product and solutions, and before that Singapore CEO.
A spokeswoman at Charles Monat told AsianInvestor that Ellis left the company in January. His former duties are now co-shared by global chief commercial officer Nikki Koh and global chief operations officer Klaus Kiessling, the spokeswoman added.
Gourlay had led MSIG Singapore since April 2015 and has been with the group for 40 years. He had also served as head of business development and underwriting in eight markets across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.
PAG POACHES KKR EXEC AS FIRST INDIA PE HEAD
Hong Kong-based PAG has hired Nikhil Srivastava from rival alternative investment manager KKR as its first dedicated head of India private equity.
He will take up the role at PAG Asia Capital, the firm's buyout group, in the second quarter, said a spokeswoman, declining to give a precise date. The unit will make further hires in India, she added.
Industry sources told AsianInvestor that PAG already had staff on the ground in India, but not on the private equity side. The spokeswoman declined to comment.
Based in Mumbai, Srivastava previously spent 10 years at KKR, as a senior member of the special situations team. KKR declined to comment on his departure.
Srivastava's appointment comes amid a rising focus on special situations investments in India following the introduction of a new bankruptcy law. To that end, other alternatives managers have been setting up local presences there in recent months, such as Cerberus Capital and Varde Partners.
PAG Asia Capital completed raising its third pan-Asian buyout fund, PAG Asia III, in November 2018, with $6 billion in capital commitments.
FORMER NOAH PRESIDENT JOINS TWO SIGMA
Two Sigma, a New York-based hedge fund, has appointed Kenny Lam as head of Asia Pacific and CEO of the firm's Hong Kong entity, Two Sigma Asia Pacific.
He will start with the systematic asset manager on April 8 in the newly created role, a company spokeswoman said. She did not specify who oversaw the Hong Kong office and the Asia Pacific region previously.
Two Sigma has Asian offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo, and plans to set up an office in Shanghai this year, according to a press release.
Lam was previously group president of Noah Holdings, a Chinese wealth management firm, which did not respond to a query about his departure.
IMAS APPOINTS CHAIRWOMAN
The Investment Management Association of Singapore (Imas) has appointed Susan Soh, Schroders’ CEO for Singapore, as the chairwoman of its executive committee as of April 1. She replaces Nicholas Hadow, who has retired.
Soh was previously deputy chairwoman of the committee. That role has been taken by Eleanor Seet, Singapore-based president of Asia at Japan's Nikko Asset Management and formerly an acting executive committee member of Imas.
CBRE REPLACES JAPAN HEAD OF CAPITAL MARKETS
Los Angeles-based property services firm CBRE has appointed Takashi Tsuji as Japan head of capital markets and head of investment properties to facilitate inbound and outbound investment.
Tsuji joined on April 1 from Tokyo-based real estate investment firm Diamond Realty Management, where whe was president and CEO.
A CBRE spokesman said Tsuji is replacing Yukihiro Ogasawara, who will remain with the company in an executive client-facing role.
Katsumi Nakamoto replaced Tsuji in March in a planned succession announced in December 2018.
Nakamoto had joined Diamond in February 2019; he was previously general manager for Asean and China real estate development at Mitsubishi Corp.
BROWN ADVISORY APPOINTS HEAD FOR NEW SINGAPORE OFFICE
Brown Advisory, a US-based investment firm, has appointed Walter Beckett as Singapore-based head of Asia Pacific after setting up its first Asian office in the city-state.
Beckett was previously a sales director in Brown Advisory's London office before relocating to Singapore to take up the new role on April 1. He reports to Logie Fitzwilliams, London-based head of international business.
Beckett is currently the only member of staff based in the Singapore office. He will be supported in his efforts by Brown Advisory’s teams in the UK and the US.
There are no immediate hiring plans for 2019 for the new office but the company will add resources as necessary, a company spokeswoman said.
FITCH HIRES ESG RESEARCH HEAD
Fitch Ratings has named Mervyn Tang as Hong Kong-based head of a newly created ESG research team in its sustainable finance group.
Prior to Tang’s appointment, Andrew Steel, global group head of Fitch Ratings' sustainable finance team, oversaw the entire ESG practice, a Fitch Ratings spokesman told AsianInvestor. Tang reports to Steel.
He rejoined Fitch in March from index provider MSCI, where he was head of fixed income in ESG research department. Before that, he worked as a director of Fitch's sovereign group in the Asia-Pacific region.
MSCI did not immediately respond to AsianInvestor queries on Tang's departure.
ALEX BOGGIS RESURFACES AT UK BOUTIQUE
Aberdeen Standard Investments’ former Asia-Pacific head of insurance coverage has joined London-based Alquity Investment Management.
Alex Boggis will run UK business development and help advise on building up the institutional client base globally as it seeks to grow its AUM from $320 million to $3 billion.
He is initially working for Alquity out of Hong Kong, where he was based for 23 years until leaving Aberdeen Standard in October, but will relocate to London in July.
London-based Suresh Mistry continues to look after clients in Asia and the Middle East.
Julia Chen succeeded Boggis at Aberdeen Standard, while remaining in Taipei as head of institutional sales for Taiwan.
Other people news reported on AsianInvestor.net in the past week: