Weekly roundup of people news, March 24
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UBS AM MAKES APAC CHANGES
UBS Asset Management (UBS AM) has hired Shamaila Khan as head of fixed income for emerging markes and Asia Pacfic, effective April 1.
Khan was previously head of emerging markets fixed income at AllianceBernstein.
She takes over from Hong Kong- based Hayden Briscoe, who has moved to a new role of Asia Pacific head of multiasset portfolio management for investment solutions. He retains his role of head of Hong Kong asset management.
Khan will be based in New York and report to Charlotte Baenninger, global head of fixed income.
Briscoe will report to Ryan Primmer, global head of investment solutions.
UBS AM did not respond to an AsianInvestor inquiry on whether Briscoe’s role is newly created and who was handling those responsibilities earlier.
AllianceBernstein did not respond to an enquiry about when Khan left and who took over her responsibilities.
LEGAL SUPER NAMES NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Legalsuper said that Luke Symons will be the super fund’s new chief executive, with effect from April 11.
The appointment follows the departure of Andrew Proebsti who stepped down last November after 20 years in the role.
Symons currently runs Responsible Financial Services Group, a business he founded in 2017.
Before that, he held senior roles with AMP, including a stint as the firm’s chief strategy officer for its wealth management business and as managing director of advice distribution.
Prior to that, he spent more than 16 years at ANZ in leadership positions.
NPS RESHUFFLES INVESTMENT HEADS
Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has reorganised the management layer under CIO Seo Won-joo and among overseas office heads, the first reshuffle since Seo joined in December 2022. The changes are effective April 10, according to a release.
The pension fund has named Park Seong-tae, managing director of investment strategy and responsible investment & governance, as the new head of the New York office.
Park has worked for NPS since 1999.
Lee Suc-won, who has led the domestic equity division since 2019, will replace Park as the new investment strategy managing director.
Lee is the first local equity division leader that NPS externally hired.
Before joining the pension fund, he worked for Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., KB Asset Management Co. and Hi Asset Management Co. in Korea.
Infrastructure investment head Ahn Ji-yong will take over as domestic equity division chief, while Hwang Mi-ok, private market risk management leader, will replace Ahn for infrastructure.
Lee Jae-wook, the current chief of the New York office, will become the new head of the private market risk management division.
External affairs division head Park Won-woong has been tapped as the new chief of the London office.
Kwon Hyuk-jin, the current London office and European private equity head, will relinquish the first title and retain the latter one.
BLACKROCK HIRES APAC MARKETS HEAD FOR ISHARES
BlackRock has appointed Nicholas Peach to the newly-created role of head of APAC markets and investments for iShares and index investments, effective May.
Based in Hong Kong, Peach will lead the APAC iShares markets and index investments team to deliver ETFs for clients in the region, manage investments in portfolios, and support the evolution of the indexing industry and ETF markets.
Peach will report functionally to Samara Cohen, global CIO for ETF and index investments, and regionally to Peter Loehnert, APAC head of ETF and index investments.
Peach joins from Goldman Sachs, where he was most recently head of APAC equities electronic services.
Nikko Asset Management (Nikko AM) has named Lu Qiumei as China chairwoman to lead firm’s efforts to expand its presence in China Onshore to serve mainland Chinese investors, effective March 17, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
In this newly created role, Lu will lead a project team to secure various licenses and managing relationships with Chinese regulators and other stakeholders.
Lu will be based in Beijing, the spokesperson said.
Lu is currently a non-executive director at Rongtong Fund Management, Nikko AM’s joint venture in Shenzhen, through which Nikko AM has operated in regards of the new chairwoman’s responsibilities, the spokesperson said.
Lu has 25 years of experience in China’s asset management industry.
Reporting to Nikko AM’s global group president Stefanie Drews in Tokyo, Lu will work closely with CFO and Global Head of Strategic Planning Allen Yan in Tokyo and regionally with Head of Asia ex-Japan Eleanor Seet in Singapore.
Global asset manager DWS has named Vanessa Wang as head of Asia Pacific effective April 1.
She will be based in Hong Kong and will report to Stefan Hoops, chief executive officer of DWS.
Wang will take over from Holger Naumann, who will return to Frankfurt as part of a planned retirement. She will also retain her current role as head of client coverage for APAC.
Before joining DWS in September 2021, Wang held senior leadership roles at Amundi where she was responsible for the institutional business in North Asia and the US.
Prior to that, Wang was at Citi where she led the APAC pensions business.
INDONESIA CENTRAL BANK CHIEF ON TRACK FOR SECOND TERM
Indonesia's central bank governor Perry Warjiyo won approval from a key parliamentary body for his reappointment for a second term, according to a Reuters report.
Warjiyo's five-year term as Bank Indonesia (BI) chief ends in May.
Full parliamentary approval is still needed for his reappointment, though lawmakers typically follow the financial committee's recommendation based on a so-called "fit-and-proper test", the report said.
Prior to his appointment as BI governor, Warjiyo was deputy governor from 2013-2018.
Warjiyo has worked for the central bank since 1984 and also has experience with the International Monetary Fund.
Insurance asset manager Conning promoted former head of business development for Asia Pacific Ruby Yang to the role of head of Asia Pacific and CEO of Conning Asia Pacific in March.
Yang will oversee the overall investment, business, and operations in the region. She will continue to be based in Hong Kong.
Yang reports to Woody Bradford, CEO and chair of the board of Conning Holdings. In addition, she will be joining the firm's operating committee, the firm told AsianInvestor.
Yang joined Conning in January 2017 as head of the China business. She was most recently managing director and head of business development Asia Pacific from October 2021 to March 2023.
Yang has 20 years of experience in the financial industry. Before joining Conning, Yang worked at various firms including BlackRock, ICBC International, and Citi.
3 CAPITAL PARTNERS APPOINTS COO
Hong Kong-based multifamily office 3 Capital Partners said it appointed Jonathan Shelley as chief operating officer and general counsel, effective February 20.
This is a newly created role although the firm previously had an external legal counsel, it told AsianInvestor.
He will be responsible for executing the business strategy of the firm as well as structuring the firm’s private equity investment programme.
Based in Hong Kong, Shelley will report to Alex Yu, chief executive officer and co-founder of 3 Capital Partners.
Shelley joins 3 Capital Partners from law firm Allen and Overy, where he specialised in private equity fund formation and investments, including in secondary transactions, based in Hong Kong.
Prior to this, Jonathan worked at O'Melveny & Myers LLP for 13 years in Shanghai, London and Hong Kong, advising high-profile alternative investment firms, sovereign wealth funds and other institutions.
SUMI TRUST AM HIRES SENIOR STRATEGIST
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management (SuMi Trust AM) has appointed Katsutoshi Inadome as senior strategist, effective February 1.
Inadome will be based in the firm’s Tokyo headquarters working alongside chief strategist Hiroyuki Ueno.
Inadome will be responsible for market analysis and research, with a particular focus on interest rates, currencies and fixed income markets.
Inadome has 18 years’ experience in the fixed income space.
Before joining SuMi TRUST, he was a bond strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities (Mitsubishi UFJ), where he was responsible for developing fixed income portfolio management strategies.
Mitubishi UFJ could not be reached for inquiries about when Inadome left the firm and who replaced him.
GREAT EASTERN NAMES NEW CHAIRMAN
Great Eastern Holding said Koh Beng Seng will step down as chairman of the board at the end of the annual general meeting on April 21.
Soon Tit Koon, will replace Koh on April 22.
Soon is currently a non-independent executive director.
Koh was on the board since January 2, 2008 and appointed chairman on September 1, 2014. He is also the chairman of the group’s principal insurance subsidiaries in Singapore.
Soon held several senior positions in Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation, Wilmar Holdings and Citicorp Investment Bank (Singapore).
Great Eastern declined to comment on whether Koh will take on another role in the company.
Great Eastern is an insurance subsidiary of OCBC Bank.
This story was updated to include the year of Koh's appointment as chairman.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) announced the appointment of Baroness Rona Fairhead and Megan Greene to the HKEX International Advisory Council for an initial term of three years, subject to renewal.
Their appointments expand the council to seven members.
Established in 2019, the council is chaired by HKEX chairman Laura Cha and comprises experts in economics, business, technology and finance from around the world who act as advisors to the HKEX board.
Baroness Rona Fairhead is chair of London-based industrial and electronics products distributor RS Group plc, a non-executive director of Oracle Corporation and a member of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords.
Megan Greene is global chief economist for the Kroll Institute, where she advises on the potential impact of global macroeconomic developments and policy on the firm’s business services and those of its clients.
Commercial real estate investor CBRE has appointed Flint Davidson as its new head of capital markets in Pacific, according an announcement on March 21.
Davidson will also join the company’s Pacific executive committee. He began his career with CBRE in 1997 and has led the firm’s Pacific capital markets office business for the past five years.
He will continue to be based in Sydney in his new role.
He will continue to remain active with clients, including transacting major office deals, while extending his focus to other key parts of CBRE’s Capital Markets business.
The Life Insurance Association Singapore appointed Dennis Tan as president for 2023-2034, effective March 23.
Tan is CEO of Prudential Singapore. He takes over from Khor Hock Seng, group CEO of Great Eastern Holdings, who was president for four terms. Khor remains a member of the board.
Wong Sze Keed, CEO of AIA Singapore, was re-elected deputy president alongside Etiqa Singapore’s CEO Raymond Ong, who begins his first term as deputy president.
Manulife Singapore CEO Khoo Kah Siang was re-elected secretary and Andrew Yeo, CEO of Income Insurance, was appointed treasurer.