Weekly roundup of people news, Jan 26
CHINA INVESTMENT CORP ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP CHANGE
China Investment Corporation appointed Liu Haoling as the new deputy secretary of the company’s Party Committee.
Liu replaces Ju Weimin, who is CIC’s vice chairman, president and chief investment officer, roles that Liu is on track to take over.
Ju, 60, is set to retire.
Liu is currently a CIC Party Committee member, vice president and chief risk officer, a role he took on in 2020.
He joined CIC in 2008, shortly after the sovereign wealth fund was established, holding senior roles in compliance and management roles at CIC’s domestic investment arm Central Huijin Investment.
He also had a stint with New China Life Insurance as chairman from 2019 to 2020.
Ju joined CIC in 2015 as vice president and became the first president of CIC Capital Corporation back then.
CIC didn't respond to an enquiry for comment.
CITADEL EXPANDS ASIA EQUITY TEAM
American hedge fund Citadel will add seasoned investor Avinash Abraham as a portfolio manager to its Asia fundamental equities team later this year, in an effort to further expand its presence in the region, the firm confirmed with AsianInvestor.
He will report to Sachin Kewalramani, portfolio manager, head of Asia fundamental equities.
Abraham will join from Torq Capital Management, an Asian market-neutral hedge fund he founded in 2016 and is currently chief investment officer.
Currently based in Hong Kong, his base location in the new role is yet to be decided.
He previously worked at Citadel between 2005 and 2009 as analyst and portfolio manager.
Citadel has about 200 employees in Asia. It has tripled headcount in the region since 2019.
PRUDENTIAL SINGAPORE APPOINTS NEW HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY
Tan Ping Ping was appointed head of sustainability at Prudential Singapore.
She reports to Dennis Tan, CEO of Prudential Singapore.
She will drive the company’s sustainability agenda for Singapore, in alignment with Prudential group’s sustainability strategy.
Tan has been with Prudential Singapore since 2016 and was previously head of corporate affairs for the insurer. She was responsible for developing and implementing internal and external communications strategies across the breadth of the business, government relations as well as community investment.
She replaces El Lynn Yeoh, who was appointed director of strategy and operations, group ESG at Prudential plc, on January 1.
Yeoh, who was previously head of ethics and ESG at Prudential Singapore, reports to Diana Guzman, group director of ESG at Prudential plc.
HK WEALTH ACADEMY APPOINTS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Hong Kong’s Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) announced the appointment of Angel Chia as executive director of the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy, starting March 1, 2024.
Chia is currently the chair of the Family Office Association Hong Kong (FOAHK). She is also founder and CEO of NexGenerator, a family office accelerator.
FOAHK Vice Chair Jessica Cutrera will succeed Chia as chair, the association announced a day later.
Cutrera is president of wealth management firm Leo Wealth.
Chia has 20 years of industry experience across Taipei, New York and Hong Kong. She held senior leadership positions at multifamily office Fountainhead Partners and Chinese brokerage firm Shenwan Hongyuan.
Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy was launched in November 2023 to provide professional training and private networking opportunities for the family office industry.
New World Development’s chief executive officer Adrian Cheng Chi-kong chairs the government-initiated institute.
Aware Super has appointed Agnes Hong to the role of head of public market equities, with effect from February.
Hong brings experience from her previous roles at Vanguard, Charles Schwab, BlackRock, and most recently at Vestmark Advisory Solutions where she served as chief investment officer and head of advisory services.
Hong will relocate from Philadelphia to Sydney and will be responsible for oversight of Aware Super's A$90 billion public markets portfolio and the development of a 2030 strategy for public market equities, aiming to boost the fund’s internal capabilities in systematic, managed, and direct equities.
She will report to Head of Portfolio Management Simon Warner.
FIDELITY ADDS APAC INSURANCE SOLUTIONS HEAD FROM AIA
Fidelity International (Fidelity) appointed Pierre-Emmanuel Brard to the new role of head of insurance solutions in Asia Pacific, effective January 8.
He will report to Ghislain Perisse, global head of insurance solutions, and will be based in Singapore.
As head of insurance solutions in Asia Pacific, Brard is tasked with driving growth and partnerships across the region in the segment.
The business areas of this newly created role previously covered by Perisse, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Brard joins Fidelity from AIA, where he was a senior member of the asset allocation and investment solutions team, advising CIOs and group senior stakeholders on investment-related issues across mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.
AIA did not respond to AsianInvestor's enquiry about Brard's replacement at the time of publication.
Prior to AIA, Brard held senior positions at AXA, including CIO of AXA Insurance Singapore.
PGIM RE APPOINTS NEW JAPAN HEAD
PGIM Real Estate (PGIM RE) appointed David Fassbender as country head of Japan, effective January 1, in addition to his current role as senior portfolio manager of the firm’s Asia Pacific value-add strategies.
His appointment reflects PGIM Real Estate’s commitment to Japan as one of its key growth markets.
Fassbender relocates from Singapore to Tokyo and will oversee PGIM real estate’s business strategy and operations in Japan, leading a team of over 30 professionals based in Tokyo.
For both roles, he will report to Benett Theseira, head of Asia Pacific for PGIM RE, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Fassbender joined PGIM Real Estate in 2002 and was previously head of Southeast Asia based in Singapore.
Fassbender replaces Morgan Laughlin, who is transitioning into an advisory role for the real estate business in Japan as well as focusing on his role as global head of data centre investments.
Laughlin is currently based in Tokyo but will relocate to Hong Kong this year, the spokesperson said.
He will report to Raimondo Amabile, co-chief executive officer and global chief investment officer of PGIM RE.
Both Fassbender and Laughlin will remain on the PGIM Real Estate Asia Pacific executive council and investment committee.
KOREA’S SV INVESTMENT HIRES PRIVATE EQUITY HEAD
Korean-based private equity and venture capital firm SV Investment appointed Brian S. Ryu as head of private equity, effective January 2024, according to his LinkedIn.
Ryu joins from Korean law firm Kim & Chang where he was an advisor since April 2023, his LinkedIn shows.
Neither SV Investment nor Kim & Chang responded to AsianInvestor’s enquiries at the time of publication.
Ryu has previously worked at Mirae Asset Global Investments and Mirae Asset Daewoo.
SV Investment is headquartered in Seoul with offices located in the US, China, and Singapore.
COLLIERS NAMES INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL LEAD FOR AUSTRALIA
Colliers appointed Lucy Mallick as international capital lead for Australia, with effect from January 2.
She will be based in Singapore due to rising APAC demand for Australian real estate investments.
In the newly created role, Mallick will bridge offshore capital with Australian markets.
She reports to Adam Woodward, head of office capital markets, and Bastiaan van Beijsterveldt, Singapore's managing director.
Mallick's has been with Colliers since 2022 and was previously a senior executive with the firm’s Australian office capital markets team.
Prior to that, she was a senior analyst at Lendlease.