Movers and shakers of July: Top people moves at asset owners
July saw some widely-anticipated executive appointments among asset owners. In particular, central banks made some noteworthy announcements, as did some sovereign wealth funds.
The AsianInvestor team curated the biggest people moves of the month, covering institutions such as the People's Bank of China, GIC, Temasek and Korea Investment Corporation.
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, 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.
GIC APPOINTS CHAIRMAN OF INVESTMENT STRATEGIES COMMITTEE
Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC has appointed the country’s deputy prime minister and minister for finance, Lawrence Wong, as chairman of its investment strategies committee, effective July 7.
His appointment follows the resignation of Tharman Shanmugaratnam as GIC’s deputy chairman and chairman of the investment strategies committee, posts he held for four years and 12 years, respectively.
FORMER CEO OF MALAYSIAN PENSION FUND JOINS PE FUND
Malaysian government-linked private equity firm Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (Ekuinas) has appointed Shahril Ridza Ridzuan. He was Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund 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.
AUSTRALIAN CENTRAL BANK NAMES FIRST FEMALE CHIEF
Australia’s central bank has appointed its first-ever female chief. Michele Bullock will take up her role as governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia for a seven-year term on September 18.
Bullock, who has served as deputy governor of the bank since April 2022, will succeed its current governor, Philip Lowe who steps down on September 17 after completing a seven-year term.
SINGAPORE'S MAS NAMES NEW CHAIRMAN
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) appointed deputy prime minister and minister for finance Lawrence Wong as chairman of its board of directors. His appointment takes effect on July 8 for a term that ends on May 31, 2026.
He replaces senior minister and coordinating minister for social policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam, MAS’s chairman since May 2011. Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s minister for trade and industry, will replace Wong as the deputy chairman of MAS's board from July 8.
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.
Gray most recently worked for Schroders Investment Management Australia where he was fund manager and head of credit research in Sydney.
TEMASEK, PING AN EXECUTIVES JOIN WORLD BANK INITIATIVE
Leaders from Temasek and Ping An Group are among 15 founding members of World Bank’s new Private Sector Investment Lab.
Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, executive director and chief executive officer of Temasek, and Jessica Tan, co-CEO of Ping An Group, were named on July 10 as the founding members of the new World Bank unit, which will build on the bank’s current work to address existing barriers and develop solutions to support private sector investment in emerging markets.
Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) has appointed Lee Sang-min chief operating officer (COO) and Suh Ik-ho as chief compliance officer (CCO), for three-year terms effective July 1. Lee joined the Korean sovereign wealth fund in 2006 and was most recently CCO.
He is replacing Chung Ji-wan that ended his three-year term on June 30, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Suh joined KIC in 2005 and was most recently head of the general and financial affairs group.