Weekly roundup of people news, June 7
ROBECO’S FORMER HEAD OF APAC DISTRIBUTION JOINS MERCER
Graham Elliot was named new head of Mercer Asia Wealth, the company said in a LinkedIn post.
He will be responsible for driving the Mercer investments regional team to its next stage of growth.
Elliot was previously head of distribution for Asia Pacific at Robeco.
"Robeco's Global Head of Sales and Marketing Malick Badjie together with the direct reports in Asia are taking over temporarily to ensure continuity for our clients and other stakeholders. We expect to announce a successor in due course," a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Elliot replaces Janet Li, who joined BEA Union Investment Management to become CEO, a spokesperson for Mercer told AsianInvestor.
He will report to Peta Latimer, Mercer president, Asia and Mick Dempsey, Mercer president, wealth.
Elliot has previously worked at BNP Paribas Asset Management, BlackRock and LGIM.
This brief has been updated.
VINACAPITAL CIO DIES
Andy Ho, chief investment officer of Vietnamese investment manager firm VinaCapital, has died at the age of 52 in Ho Chi Minh, the company said in a statement.
The cause of his death was not disclosed.
Ho was also managing director of VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF), which is traded on the London Stock Exchange.
Brook Taylor, VinaCapital’s CEO of Asset Management, will serve as interim head of VOF, along with co-managers Khanh Vu and Dieu Phuong Nguyen Thi, deputy managing directors of VOF.
Ho was recently awarded Best CIO by AsianInvestor under its Asset Management Awards 2024.
Amundi appointed Marco Tang deputy chief executive officer of Amundi Hong Kong and head of distribution for China and Hong Kong, effective June 5, and Oh Jae Geun as head of institutional business for Korea, effective May 2.
Both are based based in Hong Kong.
Prior to joining Amundi, Tang worked at Ninety One as managing director, head of Asia Advisor.
He previously held roles at Neuberger Berman, Barings, JPMorgan, Allianz Global Investors, and HSBC.
Before joining Amundi, Oh was an executive director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
His career also spans NNIP, APS Asset Management, Dimensional Fund Advisors, KB Asset Management, and DWS.
Amundi could not be reached for follow-up comment at the time of publication.
BLACKROCK HIRES PRIVATE CREDIT LEAD FOR SOUTHEAST ASIA
BlackRock appointed Yik Ley Chan as the new leader to oversee its private credit initiatives in Southeast Asia, effective July.
Chan will be based in Singapore.
Prior to joining BlackRock, he was the Asia head of private credit at Jefferies.
Chan previously worked at Credit Suisse, focusing on Southeast Asia and frontier markets.
BlackRock did not respond to AsianInvestor's request for comment by the time of publication.
FORMER GIC EXECUTIVE JOINS BANK OF SINGAPORE
Bank of Singapore appointed Owi Ruivivar to the newly created role of chief portfolio strategist.
Singapore-based Ruivivar will lead the charge in developing a systematic multi-asset allocation framework to guide clients as they build long-term portfolios.
Ruivivar joins from Singapore’s GIC where she spearheaded investment-oriented thematic research at the economics and investment strategy department.
She also led the future markets investing team, which handled multi-asset investments across private and public markets in frontier emerging markets countries.
GIC declined to comment. Ruivivar previously worked with Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
AXA KOREA GETS NEW CEO
French insurance group AXA appointed Hans Vranken as CEO of its Korea business, effective June 1.
Based in Seoul, he reports to Sally O’Hara, AXA CEO of Southeast Asia and Korea, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Vranken replaces Guillaume Mirabaud who was the CEO of AXA Korea until May 3.
Mirabaud moved to AXA GI Thailand as CEO.
Vranken relocates from the role of director of people and communications for AXA International Markets with a base in Spain.
Since 2006, he has held roles within the insurance group in Japan, Belgium, and France.
PICTET AM HIRES FOR KOREA SALES
Pictet Asset Management (Pictet AM) appointed Lee Da Seul as team lead for Korea sales, effective June 3.
Based in Hong Kong, he will report to Junjie Watkins, CEO of Asia ex Japan.
In this role, Lee leads relationships with both institutional and intermediaries clients.
He replaces Mun So Yun who decided to leave Pictet AM due to personal relocation, after being with the firm for over 11 years, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Lee joins from T. Rowe Price where he was based in Singapore and director for Korea institutional and global distribution, a spokesperson confirmed to AsianInvestor, not commenting on when Lee left the firm.
He has previously held positions with Blackrock in Hong Kong, and Korea Investment & Securities and LG Electronics in Korea.
SAMSUNG AM HIRES INFRA SPECIALIST
Samsung Asset Management (Samsung AM) appointed Chung Haeseung as vice president within their infrastructure investment division, effective June.
Samsung AM could not be reached for further details of the hire and role of Chung
Based in Seoul, Chung joins from Korean real estate and real assets specialist IGIS Asset Management where he was a manager until April.
IGIS did not respond to AsianInvestor’s enquiries at the time of publication.
Chung has also previously worked at Seoul-based Truston Asset Management.