Weekly roundup of people news, Jan 15
CAPITAL GROUP NAMES NEW JAPAN PRESIDENT
Capital Group has appointed Tetsuya Koizumi as president of its Japan business and head of the Japan client group, effective January 4.
Thomas Quantrille was the previous president of Capital International Kabushiki Kaisha, Capital Group's Japan business. He retired from the post in end 2019.
Koizumi was most recently Japan president and representative director at German fund house DWS. He was replaced by Hiro Ishitani, a DWS spokesman said. He was chief operating officer of DWS Japan prior to the appointment.
In his new job, Koizumi reports to Guy Henriques, London-based head of Europe and Asia client group, a company spokesman told AsianInvestor.
ROBECO APPOINTS NEW SINGAPORE CEO
Dutch asset manager Robeco has promoted Nayan Patel to chief executive for Singapore to replace Tom Keenan, effective January 14. Patel retains his previous role as head of institutional sales for Singapore and Southeast Asia.
Keenan left the firm on November 18 to head retail distribution at MLC Asset Management in Australia
Keenan had also been the head of head of wholesale for Asia ex-Japan, a role that has now passed to Dawn Foo, previously director of Singapore and Southeast Asia wholesale distribution.
A spokeswoman told AsianInvestor there would be no immediate replacement for Foo's former post.
Read more at: https://www.asianinvestor.net/article/weekly-roundup-of-people-news-dec-11/465348
In his new role, Patel continues to report to Graham Elliot, Hong Kong-based head of institutional business for Asia ex-Japan. Patel had joined Robeco in 2014 and previously worked for Harvest Global Investments, Kames Capital (now Aegon Asset Management) and Fidelity International.
Robeco had €158 billion ($192 billion) in assets under management as of September.
HILLHOUSE HIRES EX-BLACKSTONE PROPERTY EXEC
Chinese private equity firm Hillhouse Capital has hired Yan Yan, formerly of Blackstone, this month as a managing director in Beijing for its real estate investment team, reported Mingtiandi.
Hillhouse did not respond to an emailed request for confirmation.
Yan has joined the firm as a strategic adviser, and her duties are understood to focus on creating value from real estate assets after acquisition, reported Mingtiandi.
She left Blackstone in late 2020 after joining the private market investment giant in April 2018 as a managing diretor on the property team. Blackstone declined to comment on whether she had been or would be replaced.
VONTOBEL EXPANDS EM DEBT TEAM
Vontobel has unveiled four appointments to its emerging market fixed income team across Zurich and Hong Kong. It is not clear whether these are net additions or replacements; a spokesman for the company declined to comment whether any of its staff left in 2020.
Cosmo Zhang joined as research analyst in Hong Kong on August 10. He previously spent five years at US fund house Invesco as analyst team lead for Asia ex-Japan corporate credit. Prior to that, he worked for five years at Fitch Ratings.
Pius Yang Xue has joined as research analyst in Hong Kong on Spetember 21. Xue previously worked at Singapore-based alternative asset manager Dymon Asia, where he was a senior investment analyst focused on Greater China credit. Prior to that, he worked at Lim Advisors, Partners Group and Houlihan Lokey.
In Zurich, Carlos de Sousa joined as emerging market strategist and portfolio manager on January 1 and Nuria Jorba Arimany came in as research analyst on September 14.
De Sousa was previously the lead emerging market economist at Oxford Economics and before that a research fellow at Bruegel in Brussels, an economics think tank.
Jorba Arimany previously spent 10 years at Union Bancaire Privée in Zurich, where she was head of emerging market corporate credit research. Prior to that, she worked at Dresdner Kleinwort/Commerzbank in London.
De Sousa reports to Luc D’hooge, Zurich-based head of emerging market bonds, while the other three hires report to Wouter van Overfelt, Zurich-based head of emerging market corporates, said the spokesman.
Headed by D’hooge, Vontobel’s emerging market fixed income team comprises 14 investment professionals, with two based in Hong Kong and 12 in Zurich, the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, Simon Lue-Fong joined Vontobel as head of fixed income in October from Pictet Asset Management, where he had been head of emerging market debt.
HSBC GLOBAL AM NAMES APAC ETF SALES HEAD
HSBC Global Asset Management named Jacqueline Pang to the newly created role of head of exchange-traded fund sales for Asia Pacific, effective January 14.
Based in Hong Kong, Pang reports to Olga De Tapia, London-based global head of ETF sales. A spokeswoman declined to comment on had covered the role's responsibilities before Pang's appointment.
Before joining the firm, Pang was head of ETF capital markets for Asia-Pacific at State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) for eight years.
A spokeswoman told AsianInvestor that Pang left SSGA in December 2020 and Hong Kong-based Jean-Francois Mesnard-Sense was promoted to replace her in January. Mesnard-Sense joined the firm in 2018 as an ETF capital markets specialist for Asia Pacific.
MANULIFE ADDS DIGITAL BUSINESS ROLE
Manulife Investment Management appointed Grace Ho, the current chief marketing officer for Asia, as head of direct digital business and portfolios for Asia, effective January 14.
Ho joined the firm in 2015 and reports to Michael Dommermuth, head of wealth and asset management for Asia who is also based in Hong Kong, a spokeswomen told AsianInvestor.
In this newly created role, Ho will be responsible for the digital business and integrate digital offerings into the firm’s digital ecosystems across investment and pension platforms. Another part for this new role is to support firm’s captive distribution channel.
Replacement hiring for the role of chief marketing officer for Asia is underway and Ho will stay on the role until the replacement is onboard, the spokeswoman told AsianInvestor. The firm considers both internal and external hiring.
STANCHART NAMES CIO FOR WM BUSINESS
Standard Chartered has promoted Steve Brice from chief investment strategist to chief investment officer of the wealth management business, effective January 1.
Alexis Calla was previously global head of investment strategy and advisory and chief investment officer. He stepped down in December, a spokeswoman said.
Brice leads a team of around 25 investment professionals and chairs the global investment committee, which is responsible for forming the cross-asset investment views for the private bank and retail segments. He also heads the discretionary portfolio management division.
Brice reports to Marc Van de Walle, global head of wealth management. Both are based in Singapore.
The spokeswoman declined to comment on who would succeed Brice as chief investment strategist.
TMF GROUP NAMES NEW DIRECTOR
TMF Group, a Dutch professional services firm, appointed Derek Chen as Shanghai-based commercial director of fund services on January 11.
He will report to Andrew O’Shea, Dublin-based global head of fund services. Chen was previously a vice president at Apex Fund Services in Shanghai.
A spokesman told AsianInvestor that Chen's role had been created to support Chinese fund managers establishing renminbi and US dollar funds domiciled in China.
Before his arrival, those responsibilities were shared amongst the team.
MAITRI BRINGS IN EX-DBS PRIVATE BANK HEAD
Singapore-based Maitri Asset Management appointed Lawrence Lua, former global head of DBS Private Bank, to its advisory board on January 1.
Lua is still a senior adviser at the Singaporean bank, having stepped down as global head of the private bank in December 2019. He had joined DBS in 2011 as Southeast Asia head of private banking.
Lua will advise Maitri on portfolio and operations, regulatory matters, and investing and growth strategies.
Prior to DBS, he held senior private banking positions at Julius Baer, Merrill Lynch and Citibank, having started his banking career as a senior officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Other people news reported on AsianInvestor in the past week:
Double Haven closure underlines pandemic effects