Weekly roundup of people news, Aug 18
JANET LI LEAVES MERCER
Janet Li, partner and wealth business leader, Asia, at Mercer, left the company earlier this month, AsianInvestor can reveal.
“Mercer confirms that Janet Li has made the decision to explore new opportunities outside of the organisation. After five years in Mercer, Janet departs with our respect, gratitude and best wishes,” a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Dublin-based Michael Lernihan, global investment sales and propositions leader, will assume the role of interim Asia wealth leader while the investment consultancy searches for Li’s successor, the spokesperson added.
Li has worked with Mercer since January 2018 and was previously with consultancy rival Willis Towers Watson, where she was director of investments for Greater China.
CIO OF SUN LIFE AM HONG KONG EXITS
Zita Chung, chief investment officer of Sun Life Asset Management Hong Kong, has left the company, AsianInvestor understands.
AsianInvestor was unable to ascertain whether a replacement has been named.
Chung had been with Sun Life AM HK since early 2012, having worked in various roles including regional head of investments and portfolio manager, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She also worked with Mercer before that, according to LinkedIn.
Sun Life AM Hong Kong is part of Canada’s Sun Life Financial group.
VARDE PARTNERS' PRIVATE CREDIT EXECUTIVE HEADS TO HILLHOUSE
Varde Partners’s senior managing director Sandeep Chandak is leaving the firm, AsianInvestor can reveal.
Based in Singapore, Chandak is on the Asia corporate and traded credit team and has been with the firm since 2016.
Chandak is set to join Hillhouse Capital in Singapore to expand the firm’s private credit business across the region, according to media reports.
Varde Partners declined to comment on his departure. Hillhouse Capital didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Chandak has previously worked at Deutsche Bank Hong Kong as a trader in distressed and illiquid securities.
HKEX NAMES HEAD OF LISTED ISSUER REGULATION
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) appointed Catherine Yien as managing director and head of listed issuer regulation, listing division, effective January 1, 2024.
Yien will lead the team responsible for the frontline regulation of over 2,600 listed issuers in Hong Kong, supporting issuer understanding and compliance with the listing rules and working with directors and senior executives from across the issuer community.
Yien will join on September 1 and report to HKEX Head of Listing Katherine Ng.
Yien succeeds Christine Kan, who after 27 years, will be retiring from HKEX. The two will work together to ensure a smooth transition, before Kan retires on December 31, 2023.
Kan has been a member of the listing division for nearly three decades, leading the listed issuer regulation team for the last 17 years.
Yien joins HKEX from financial advisory firm Rothschild & Co, where she has worked for nearly 28 years, most recently as managing director in the firm’s global advisory team.
Since 2019, she has been a member of the advisory committee of the Securities and Futures Commission. She also previously served as a member and later deputy chairman of the listing committee of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
M&G INVESTMENTS NAMES NEW KOREA CHIEF
M&G Investments has appointed Peter Kim as head of Korea. In the newly created role, which he commenced on August 16, he oversees the expansion of M&G’s business in South Korea.
He reports to Berny Lin, M&G’s head of distribution for Asia ex-Japan, and is based in Seoul.
Kim joined M&G from Lazard Korea Asset Management, where he was marketing representative.
He boasts nearly three decades of experience in the South Korean market, having worked with investment firms and banks including Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, UBS Warburg and Daewoo Securities.
CHUBB APPOINTS KOREA PRESIDENT
Chubb has appointed Janice (Jae-Kyung) Mo as country president of its general insurance business in South Korea.
In her new role, which is subject to regulatory approval, she will have responsibility for Chubb’s overall performance in South Korea. She will be based in Seoul.
Mo's appointment is effective from September 1. She reports to Paul McNamee, Chubb’s regional president for Asia-Pacific. She succeeds Edward Kopp, who has been appointed regional president for the Far East and country president for Japan.
In taking up her new role, Mo will step down as Chubb’s senior vice president for property and casualty, claims and corporate strategy. Her replacement has not been announced.
Mo joined Chubb in 2014 as its head of property and casualty and agency distribution management.
She previously worked at AIG for 10 years, most recently as the company’s head of commercial insurance for Korea.
AVPN, the largest network of social investors in Asia, has appointed Vikas Arora to the newly-created role of chief of impact investing, effective immediately.
Arora will lead AVPN’s overall strategy and direction of impact investing, including implementing the organisation’s investing priorities and identifying new opportunities.
Arora also joins the leadership team of AVPN.
He was previously with Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, where he was managing director and head of sales for the Asia transaction banking office.
He has also worked with Deutsche Bank and has more than 30 years of experience in financial services.
AVPN has a global network of 600 members of funders and resource providers to drive capital towards impact in Asia.
MFS NAMES NEW HEAD OF AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND
MFS Investment Management has appointed Josh Barton as managing director and head of Australia and New Zealand.
Barton, who is based in Melbourne, will officially replace current country head Marian Poirier in September.
Poirier is set to retire after 30 years in the industry and will officially depart MFS in April next year.
Barton is currently responsible for leading the firm's sales efforts involving institutional investors in Australia and New Zealand.
He joined MFS in 2012, after 11 years at BlackRock where he held several roles, including director and senior account manager in the global client group.
Real estate consultancy Colliers appointed Badal Yagnik as CEO for India, effective immediately.
Yagnik will be based in Gurgaon and will collaborate with Sankey Prasad, chairman and MD for India, to drive further growth and profitability for the company.
He will also report to Prasad, a spokesperson for Colliers told AsianInvestor.
Yagnik replaces Ramesh Nair, who stepped down from the role in March. Nair was CEO since July 2021.
Yagnik was previously managing director, tentant representation for India at another real estate consultancy, Cushman and Wakefield. He also previously worked at JLL.
Yagnik's role was taken over by Veera Babu on August 9, a Cushman and Wakefield spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
This story was updated to include Cushman & Wakefield's response after publication.
EX-ISHARES AUSTRALIA HEAD JOINS STAKE
Australian investment platform Stake named Jon Howie as its new chief commercial officer.
Howie will be based in Sydney and will be responsible for promoting strategic innovation across all teams while ensuring sustainable long term business growth.
He has over 20 years of experience in financial services and was most recently the chief executive at corporate bond exchange company XTB — a role which he resigned from in May 2023.
Howie previously spent almost nine years at BlackRock as its managing director, head of index equity APAC as well as head of iShares Australia until he left the firm in 2020. He also held leadership positions at Macquarie Bank and VGI Partners.