Weekly roundup of people news, Sept 20
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EX-PING AN CO-CEO JOINS SUN LIFE CANADA
Sun Life Canada named former Ping An co-CEO Jessica Tan as new president, succeeding Jacques Goulet, who will become executive chair, Sun Life Canada.
These changes are effective September 30.
Tan was most recently co-CEO and executive vice president of Ping An Insurance Group until the end of 2023.
She joined Ping An in 2013, progressively serving as group chief information officer, chief operating officer and then deputy CEO.
Goulet will support a smooth leadership transition and help deliver on key elements of enterprise strategy.
He will also continue as the chair of the board of directors for Sun Life Canada's virtual care business, and in his leadership role as chair of the board for the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association.
HEDGE FUND FENGHE HIRES FROM FSSA INVESTMENT MANAGERS
Sophia Li, former Japan equity portfolio manager with FSSA Investment Managers, left the firm after 15 years and joined Singapore-based Asian hedge fund FengHe Fund Management as managing director in September, the firm confirmed to AsianInvestor.
Li has relocated from Hong Kong to Singapore.
She will work closely with founding partner and chairman John Wu and founding partner and chief investment officer Matt Hu in the new role.
She reports to Hu.
She will enhance the depth of FengHe's existing Japan specialist team. In addition to her appointment, the firm plans to continue strengthening the team and will add more personnel soon, a spokesperson said.
Before joining FengHe, Li spent 15 years with FSSA Investment Managers, where she was most recently the lead portfolio manager on the FSSA Japan Equity strategy.
Li was featured by AsianInvestor on International Women's Day this year as one of the top-performing female portfolio managers in Asia according to Morningstar.
ESSSUPER HIRES INVESTMENT MANAGER
ESSSuper, the A$37 billion ($25 billion) super fund for emergency workers, has appointed Martin Thompson as investment manager.
Thompson joins from legalsuper, where he served as head of investment research for 12 months.
Prior to his brief tenure at legalsuper, Thompson had a 14-year career at Frontier Advisers.
His focus areas include infrastructure, agriculture, timberland, and private equity investing.
GAM INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA HEAD RESIGNS
The Australia head of GAM Investments, the Switzerland-based asset manager, is set to depart.
Alex Zaika has resigned from his role at the firm and is set to join another company but has not yet announced his new role or firm.
GAM is currently in the process of searching for Zaika's replacement.
Zaika had been with GAM since July 2018, serving as the local head for the Australian market.
His previous roles included head of wealth for iShares Australia at BlackRock, vice president of investor solutions at Barclays Capital, and positions at Macquarie Bank, Skandia, Zurich Insurance, and AMP.
Harvest Fund Management appointed Lin Qibo as an additional fund manager for Harvest Wumart Consumer Close-end Infrastructure Fund, or Harvest Wumart Consumer REIT, starting September 13, according to its disclosure to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Lin will work alongside existing fund managers Zhang Wenjing, Wen Zhanya and Wei Shaoyi.
Lin joined Harvest in August 2023 as deputy director of the infrastructure fund investment management team.
He previously worked at major Chinese property developers, including China Fortune Land Development, Sunac Real Estate Group, Longfor Properties, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
GERMAN REAL ESTATE MANAGER OPENS SINGAPORE OFFICE
GARBE, a real estate focused investment manager, opened a new office in Singapore.
Chenhui Xia was also appointed managing director to lead operations out of the city state.
Xia will focus on building relationships with investors, driving capital procurement, and supporting business development initiatives.
This office is the first outside Europe for the Germany entity and is aimed at improving ties with institutional investors in the region.
HONG LEONG AM NAMES MALAYSIA CEO
Hong Leong Asset Management Berhad appointed Chue Kwok Yan as CEO effective September 11, after winning approval from the Securities Commission Malaysia.
Yan was previously CEO and CIO at KAF Investment Funds Berhad as well as head of research at Affin Hwang Capital.
Previous CEO Hoo See Kheng joined Astute Fund Management as chief executive in July.