Weekly round up of people news, Nov 22
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MANULIFE WEALTH, AM ASIA HEAD TO LEAVE, SUCCESSOR NAMED
Manulife Wealth and Asset Management (Manulife WAM) appointed Fabio Fontainha as the new head of wealth and asset management, Asia, effective February 2025.
Fontainha succeeds Michael Dommermuth, who is leaving the firm at the end of the year. Fontainha will relocate from the US to Hong Kong for this role.
Fontainha will be a member of the Manulife WAM leadership team and Manulife’s global leadership team.
He reports to Paul Lorentz and will also have accountability to Phil Witherington, president and CEO, Manulife Asia.
He will collaborate closely with all country and regional heads, chief investment officers, and global product teams to deliver investment capabilities for the region
Fontainha was previously with Citigroup, where he worked for more than three decades in consumer and private wealth as well as retail markets.
ALLIANZGI APPOINTS APAC CIO FOR EQUITY
Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) appointed Wilfred Sit as CIO equity, Asia Pacific, responsible for managing the equity team in the region.
Sit, who joins in January 2025, succeeds Raymond Chan, who will be retiring after a multi-decade career with AllianzGI.
He joins from Hang Seng Investment Management, where he was chief investment officer since January 2019, leading an investment team that managed more than $45 billion in assets at the end of September.
An open recruitment process for Sit's successor has begun, a spokesperson for Hang Seng IM told AsianInvestor.
He also held senior roles at Baring Asset Management, Mirae Asset Global Investments and Invesco.
ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN NAMES HEAD OF ASIA INSTITUTIONS
AllianceBernstein (AB) appointed Brent Kao as head of Asia ex-Japan institutions, based in Hong Kong.
Kao will oversee institutional client relationships and strategy development across Asia excluding Japan at the $793 billion asset manager.
He reports to global head of institutions Michael Thompson.
Kao joins from MetLife investment management's institutional client group, where he served as head of Asia ex-Japan.
Previously, he spent over 14 years at BlackRock as head of Asia official institutions and consultant relations.
AB did not respond to AsianInvestor regarding who Kao replaces in the role at the time of publication.
APOLLO OPENS KOREA OFFICE, NAMES HEAD
Apollo, an alternative asset manager, opened an office in Seoul and hired Lee Jay Hyun as a partner and head of Korea to help execute growth plans for that market.
Lee will help drive Apollo’s capital formation strategy, institutional relationships and team growth in the country.
He was previously with Samsung Securities as senior executive vice president.
He also worked as managing director, head of Korea in private equity and growth equity for Goldman Sachs and held other senior roles at BNP Paribas, KPMG Korea and Korea Long Term Credit Bank.
Apollo also appointed Sam Young Chung, professor at Yonsei University and head of AIF APAC, as an academic advisor in Asia Pacific.
Apollo has grown its operational presence in Asia across Tokyo, Sydney, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Singapore since 2006.
CAPITALAND AUSTRALIA APPOINTS CEO, CIO
CapitaLand Investment (CLI) has created two new positions in its Australian business.
Angelo Scasserra was appointed as CEO and Rahul Bharara was named CIO of CLI Australia. Both are expected to join in the first half of 2025.
Based in Sydney, the executives will report to group COO Andrew Lim and collaborate with managing director Paul Toussaint.
Scasserra joins from Barrenjoey Capital Partners, where he headed real estate private capital.
Before that he worked for about two decades at Credit Suisse in Australia and Singapore, where he was head of Asia Pacific real estate and co-head of investment banking.
Bharara also joins from Barrenjoey Capital Partners where he was partner in real estate private capital.
His previous roles include managing director at Credit Suisse Australia and CIO at Gurner Group.
Barrenjoey Capital Partners did not respond to AsianInvestor’s enquiry on who will replace Scasserra and Bharara following their departures.
ASX APPOINT INTERIM CRO
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) appointed Leanne McDougall as interim chief risk officer, effective November 18.
She succeeds Hamish Treleaven, who announced his retirement in September.
Based in Sydney, McDougall will report to CEO Helen Lofthouse and oversee the exchange's risk management functions.
McDougall was most recently at Suncorp Bank, where she served as chief risk officer for over two years until March 2024.
Her 30-year career includes senior risk management roles at National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Treleaven will remain briefly to ensure a smooth transition.
The exchange did not respond to AsianInvestor’s enquiry on whether McDougall will be considered for the permanent position.
CBRE APPOINTS APAC HEAD OF CAPITAL ADVISORS
CBRE appointed Hugh Macdonald to the new role of head of capital advisors for Asia Pacific.
Starting his role in Sydney, Macdonald will relocate to Singapore in the first quarter of 2025.
Macdonald joins CBRE from Deutsche Bank, where he was previously head of investment banking coverage and advisory for Australia and New Zealand.
Macdonald will report to Leo van den Thillart, global head of investment banking, and Greg Hyland, head of capital markets, Asia Pacific.