Weekly roundup of people news, July 23
ETF veteran Yip joins Vanguard from UBS
Global fund house Vanguard has hired ETF veteran Sammy Yip from UBS Global Asset Management. Hong Kong-based Yip joined Vanguard this month as managing director for client portfolio management.
Yip has joined from UBS GAM, where he was an executive director and head of ETF sales until last month, according to his LinkedIn profile. He joined UBS in August 2013 and led the build-out of UBS GAM’s exchange-traded funds business in Asia.
UBS did not respond to queries as to whether Yip has been replaced or there is a recruitment process underway.
Yip was previously head of business and product development at Lippo Investments Management between April 2010-August 2013, where he led the development of the firm’s ETF products in Hong Kong. Yip had a long tenure at State Street Global Advisors in Hong Kong, between 1999-2010, where his positions included Asia-Pacific head of ETFs and head of global structured products for Asia ex-Japan.
Vanguard’s hire comes soon after the passive investment group listed Hong Kong’s first ETF tracking the US S&P 500 index. In May, Vanguard told AsianInvestor that the listing was part of its attempts to offer local access to diversified global equity investments.
Northern Trust appoints SE Asia chief
Northern Trust has named Rohan Singh as its new head of Singapore and Southeast Asia. The firm has also appointed Madeleine Senior as Melbourne-based head of Australia and New Zealand. Singh and Senior will assume their new positions on September 1, and both will report to William Mak, Northern Trust’s Asia-Pacific head.
Singh is currently based in Northern Trust’s Melbourne office where he has been Australia and New Zealand country head since October 2011. In his new role he will be responsible for Northern Trust’s asset servicing and asset management business activities across Southeast Asia. Mak was previously Singapore chief until he was promoted to Asia-Pacific head in July 2014.
When Senior replaces Singh in September, she will be responsible for leading Northern Trust’s asset servicing and asset management business in Australia and New Zealand.
Singh worked in Northern Trust’s Singapore office from January 2007 to September 2011, and before moving to Melbourne was head of asset servicing sales for Asia Pacific. Prior to that he was head of south Asia sales at Citigroup.
Senior joined Northern Trust in 1995 and most recently was head of business development for Northern Trust’s asset servicing business in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to this she was managing director of the Nordic region, based in Stockholm.
Permira names Japan heads
Private equity firm Permira has made two senior hires to head up its Japanese operation. Ryo Fujii has joined as managing director and head of Japan, while Yoichiro Furuse has been named as the firm’s Japan chairman.
Tokyo-based Fujii and Furuse joined Permira on July 15 and report to Alex Emery, Permira’s head of Asia.
Before joining Permira, Fujii was a director at PE firm KKR in both Tokyo and New York between 2006-2015. Prior to that, Fujii was a vice-president at Goldman Sachs between 2001-2006, and a government official at Japan’s ministry of finance from 1997-1999.
Furuse has worked at Permira since 2007, when he joined as a senior adviser. Prior to that Furuse worked at Sumitomo Bank, where he was a senior executive director and a member of the board.
KKR hires Japan chairman
Private equity giant KKR has named Atsushi Saito as its non-executive Japan chairman. Tokyo-based Saito will join KKR on August 1.
Saito comes from stock market operator JPX, where he was group CEO and president. He was previously president and CEO of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Group (TSE). During his time at the Exchange Group, he oversaw the merger of TSE and the Osaka Securities Exchange to form JPX in January 2013.
He has also served as president and CEO of the Industrial Revitalisation Corporation of Japan, a government-sponsored group focused on turnaround investments.
While Saito’s position is a non-executive role, KKR Japan CEO Hiro Hirano runs the day-to-day business. A former chairman, Shu Minoda, retired in December last year, but his position was an executive role.
Savills IM boosts Japan team
Savills Investment Management has appointed Will Johnson and Ataru Hayashi as associate directors on its Japan team. In the newly-created positions, Tokyo-based Johnson and Hayashi report to Tom Silecchia and Tadaaki Kurozumi, the property investment manager’s Japan co-heads.
Johnson, who assumed his new position in March, will develop house views on the Japanese real estate market and conduct investment research for specific transactions. Hayashi, who joined the firm in May, will focus on underwriting, execution, and monitoring of asset management.
Johnson was formerly head of research and consultancy at Savills Japan from December 2009 to February 2015, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to joining Savills, Johnson was an analyst for the London-based research consultancy Property Market Analysis between 2007-2009.
Hayashi joined from BlackRock Japan, where he was in charge of acquisitions product development, and had worked at the asset manager since August 2012. Prior to that, he was an investment banker at Mizuho Securities.
TH Real Estate names new CEO
Investment management firm TH Real Estate has named Mike Sales as its new chief executive, who will take over when incumbent James Darkins retires this year. London-based Sales, currently Europe managing director, will take over from Darkins on September 1.
Darkins will retire at the end of the year, but will remain at TH Real Estate as executive director, where he will work on strategic initiatives such as the firm’s Asia-Pacific growth plans.
Sales has worked at TH Real Estate and its predecessor companies for 21 years. He joined the company as UK property investment manager in 1994 and has held a number of senior management roles, including chief investment officer, before his appointment as Europe managing director in 2011.
When asked about a replacement for Sales, a TH Real Estate spokesperson said: “We will be taking time over the coming months to consider the necessary organisational structure and required changes.”
Darkins has worked at TH Real Estate and its predecessor companies for 17 years, having originally joined AMP in New Zealand as head of property in 1998.
Other people news reported by AsianInvestor over the past week: