Weekly roundup of people news, July 28
CHINA CENTRAL BANK WELCOMES NEW GOVERNOR
China named the People's Bank of China’s (PBOC) new Communist Party chief Pan Gongsheng as the new governor, succeeding Yi Gang, who reached the party’s unwritten retirement age of 65.
Pan’s appointment was announced by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on July 25. It effectively ended the practice of the previous five-year term when the party chief and governor of the Chinese central bank were held by different people.
On July 1, Pan was named the PBOC Communist Party chief, replacing retired Guo Shuqing. Yi’s retirement was announced on the same day.
Pan, who just turned 60, has extensive experience in commercial banking. He joined PBOC in 2012 as deputy governor. Before that, he spent years in senior leadership roles with the Agricultural Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
BLACKROCK NAMES WEALTH DUO IN ASIA
BlackRock appointed Mandy Lui as head of Greater China wealth and Dennis Quah as head of Singapore wealth.
In the newly created role, Lui will focus on developing deeper relationships with key distributors throughout Hong Kong, Taiwan and offshore China. This will try to ensure that clients have access to BlackRock’s investment capabilities to build wealth solutions.
She will join the firm in mid-August in Hong Kong.
Lui was most recently head of wealth and retail distribution for Greater China and Southeast Asia in Hong Kong with Barings for nearly five years. Her last day will be on August 1.
Her role with Barings has been taken over by Lydia Wu, who has been named head of distribution for Greater China and Southeast Asia with immediate effect, the firm told AsianInvestor.
Wu joined the firm as head of institutional distribution for Greater China and Southeast Asia in April 2021.
In the new role, Wu will be responsible for the business development of senior client relationships across the institutional, wealth, and retail channels in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
Meanwhile, BlackRock's new head of Singapore wealth Dennis Quah joins the firm in Singapore on July 24.
He will focus on building partnerships with consumer banks, private banks, and insurers, while bringing together relevant specialists throughout the firm to help clients build wealth portfolios.
It is an expanded role which covers consumer banks and mass retail, as well as private banks in Singapore, the firm told AsianInvestor.
He holds two decades of asset management distribution and product development experience throughout Asia markets, having worked for Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Amundi, OCBC Bank and Schroders.
Quah left Columbia Threadneedle in June. The firm appointed Mark Chan as the new head of wholesale, Asia to replace him, effective April 22.
AUSTRALIA’S TCORP HIRES FOR DEFENSIVE ASSETS AND CREDIT
Stuart Gray has joined New South Wales Treasury Corporation (TCorp) as senior manager of defensive assets and credit.
TCorp is the investment and financial management partner of the New South Wales government, and its investment management arm manages A$107 billion ($71 billion) in assets.
TCorp did not respond to AsianInvestor’s enquiries regarding when Gray joined, who he reports to and who previously oversaw his role’s responsibilities.
Gray most recently worked for Schroders Investment Management Australia where he was fund manager and head of credit research in Sydney. Gray left Schroders in September 2022 after more than 11 years as part of a restructure of the Australia fixed income team, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
As the restructure made Gray’s role redundant, the team structure was re-oriented under research and portfolio construction lines, led by head of team Stuart Dear and deputy Kellie Wood, the spokesperson added.
Prior to Schroders, Gray worked at Aberdeen Asset Management (now abrdn) and Deutsche Asset Management as portfolio manager.
MALAYSIAN PE FIRM EKUINAS NAMES NEW CHAIR
Malaysian government-linked private equity firm Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (Ekuinas) has appointed Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, a former chief executive of the Employees Provident Fund, as chairman.
Ridzuan was the pension fund’s chief executive from 2013 to 2018 before taking on the role of managing director at sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, a contract position he held until 2021.
Ridzuan replaces Raja Arshad Uda, who had been Ekuinas’s chairman since it was set up in 2009, and who remains chairman of state-owned fund management firm Permodalan Nasional.
He is also chairman of telecoms company Axiata and property developer Iskandar Waterfront Holdings.
MERCER APPOINTS PACFIC WEALTH CEO
Mercer appointed Cathy Hales to the newly created role as CEO of wealth for Pacific. She commenced with Mercer on July 24 and is based in Sydney.
Hales will have leadership of Mercer’s wealth portfolio in Australia and New Zealand, comprising the Mercer Super Trust with approximately A$63 billion ($42 billion) in assets under management, the firm’s multi-manager and investment solutions business and Mercer’s superannuation services arm which provides superannuation administration and financial advice to clients.
Mercer did not respond to AsianInvestor’s enquiries about who Hales reports to.
Hales joins Mercer from Sydney-based investment advisory and management firm Amicaa where she was co-founder and strategic advisor. A spokesperson told AsianInvestor that "Hayles built a strong team, and we have filled her role with an internal promotion".
Hales also has the role of independent non-executive director at Navigator Global Investments. A spokesperson told AsianInvestor that following Hales joining Mercer, the search for a replacement is underway, but she has agreed to remain in her role until Navigator has appointed a suitable replacement.
Prior to Amicaa, Hales led investment management firm Challenger’s Fidante Partners. She has also held roles in New York and London earlier in her career.
NUVEEN HIRES APAC CONSULTANT RELATIONS HEAD
Nuveen has appointed Jaxon Rudduck as its new head of Asia Pacific ex-Japan consultant relations.
Rudduck’s appointment is part of a strategic expansion to Nuveen’s Asia-Pacific global client group, according to a press release. In his new role, Rudduck will focus on Nuveen’s relationships with counterparts at key global investment consulting firms throughout Asia Pacific ex-Japan, to develop and retain assets for Nuveen’s investment strategies.
Nuveen did not respond to AsianInvestor’s enquiries about when Rudduck joined the firm, who he reports to and who previously oversaw his role’s responsibilities.
Rudduck joined Nuveen from Janus Henderson Investors Australia where his most recent role was head of consultant relations. He left the firm earlier in July and was based in Sydney, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Janus Henderson has made an internal promotion to fill the role, with Craig McDonald having been appointed head of retail research for the Australian business. He has previously spent six years at Janus Henderson in the role of retail sales director and is based in Sydney, the spokesperson said.
T. ROWE PRICE ADDS APAC ESG INVESTMENT SPECIALIST
T. Rowe Price named Caroline Ramscar as ESG investment specialist for Asia Pacific, representing the firm’s responsible investment and corporate governance teams with clients, prospects and consultants in the region.
Ramscar relocated to Sydney from London earlier this year and assumed her new role on July 18. She will report to Nick Beecroft, Sydney-based Asia-Pacific head of the investment specialist group.
Ramscar has over 20 years of experience in financial markets. Before joining T. Rowe Price, she spent 10 years at Legal & General Investment Management in London, including the past five years as head of sustainability solutions.
VANGUARD AUSTRALIA NAMES APAC ETF LEAD
Vanguard Australia appointed Adam DeSanctis as head of ETF capital markets for the Asia Pacific region.
DeSanctis joined Vanguard in 2015 and was most recently a specialist in the US ETF capital markets team.
In the new role, DeSanctis will be based in Melbourne and reports to Janel Jackson, global head of capital markets.
He replaced Minh Tieu, who has moved to Vanguard’s headquarters in the US to assume the role of head of US equity operational risk.
PEAK XV NAMES NEW PARTNER AND MD
Singapore-headquartered venture capital firm Peak XV Partners, previously known as Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia, has promoted Rohit Agarwal to the post of managing director and made him a partner.
He joins fellow managing directors Shailendra Singh and Abheek Anand, and will remain the principal on Peak XV’s investment team.
Agarwal has been with the firm since 2015 and moved to Singapore in 2016.
Agarwal advises on investments in fintech, software-as-a service, consumer goods and e-commerce. He currently serves on the board of a number of companies, including Insider, Bibit, Tonik, Kopi Kenangan, Shift and Lemonilo.
CBC GROUP NAMES GLOBAL INVESTOR RELATIONS CHIEF
Singapore-based healthcare-dedicated investment firm CBC Group has appointed Andrew Dempsey as global head of investor relations.
He is reporting to CBC chief executive Fu Wei and will remain based in New York.
In the newly created role, in which he has already commenced, Dempsey is taking on expanded responsibilities to lead CBC’s global investor relations team, overseeing such activities as capital formation, distribution and client services.
Dempsey joined CBC in August 2022 as managing director and head of capital formation and investor relations for the Americas.
This article has been updated to reflect Lydia Wu's new role with Barings.