Weekly roundup of people news, Aug 4
LGIM TAPS FORMER T ROWE PRICE EXECUTIVE FOR ASIA ROLE
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) appointed Gerald Koh as head of wholesale Asia (ex-Japan) as the firm further expands its footprint in Asia, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Koh will lead the development of LGIM’s wholesale business across Asia and be responsible for client acquisition and support across private banks, wealth managers and other intermediaries.
He joined the Singapore office on August 1 and reports to Natasha Mora, managing director, Asia ex Japan.
Koh has more than 20 years of experience in the Asia asset management industry.
Prior to joining LGIM, he was head of intermediaries, Southeast Asia at T. Rowe Price Singapore.
Previously, he also held senior roles at Schroder Investment Management Singapore, PIMCO Asia and Credit Suisse Asset Management.
T. Rowe Price declined to comment on Koh’s departure or who will take over from him.
FORMER GPIF CIO TURNS MSCI SPECIAL ADVISOR
Mizuno served as the executive managing director and CIO of GPIF from 2015 to 2020. Mizuno will provide MSCI with strategic counsel, thought leadership, and industry engagement.
Mizuno has also held roles as special envoy of the UN secretary general on innovative finance and sustainable investments and director of the board of Tesla.
In addition, Mizuno serves as mission committee member of Danone, director of the board of LiveWire Group and CFA Institute research and policy advisor council member.
FORMER BLACKROCK CHINA HEAD JOINS CITADEL SECURITIES
Tony Tang, former head of BlackRock’s China business, joined Citadel Securities to helm its China operations.
In the newly created role, Tang will drive the firm’s expansion in China, working closely with local stakeholders including regulators, clients and business partners.
He will start his new role in September and report to chief executive officer Zhao Peng, the firm told AsianInvestor.
Tang was head of China at BlackRock for four years and was instrumental in establishing and expanding the firm’s onshore presence.
AsianInvestor reported his departure in early June.
He is a veteran in China’s financial markets and a former securities regulator, having served in senior roles with the China Securities Regulatory Commission from 2010 to 2014, including deputy director-general of Department of International Affairs and Department of Fund Supervision.
Before joining BlackRock, he was CEO of China Asset Management and GF Holdings (Hong Kong) Corporation.
SINGAPORE CPF TO GET NEW CEO
Singapore’s government has appointed Melissa Khoo as the next chief executive of its S$549 billion Central Provident Fund.
Khoo is currently deputy secretary of higher education and skills at the Ministry of Education.
She will commence in the role on October 1 and will serve as the CPF’s chief executive designate from September 1.
She replaces Augustin Lee, who has been appointed as second permanent secretary of the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group, which reports to the prime minister’s office.
Khoo joined the education ministry as deputy secretary of policy in April 2019 and was appointed to her current role at the ministry in November 2021.
BNY MELLON REJIGS ASIA DISTRIBUTION TEAM
BNY Mellon Investment Management appointed Clarence Chan as its Singapore chief executive.
Chan’s appointment comes in addition to his existing role as head of client solutions for APAC ex Japan, which he took over in March 2022.
In addition, Dominic Wong has taken on an expanded role as head of intermediary distribution for Asia ex-Japan, reporting to Doni Shamsuddin, BNY Mellon IM’s Asia-Pacific chief executive.
Wong is the company’s first head of intermediary distribution for Asia ex-Japan, having previously served as its head of intermediary distribution for Greater China since March 2021.
He is based in Hong Kong.
Finally, Joycelyn Daines has been named head of intermediary distribution for Southeast Asia.
She reports to Wong and is based in Singapore.
She was previously vice president of intermediary distribution for Southeast Asia, having been appointed to the role in October 2021.
These new appointments come after the departure in March of Paul Liu, Singapore chief executive and head of intermediary distribution for Southeast Asia.
WARBURG PINCUS APPOINTS ASIA REAL ESTATE CO-HEADS
Warburg Pincus has appointed Takashi Murata as co-head of Asia real estate and promoted Ellen Ng as his co-head counterpart.
Ng was promoted from her previous role as Warburg's head of China real estate.
Murata and Ng will take up their posts early next year.
Both will report to Jeff Perlman, who last month was promoted from his role as head of Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific real estate to president of the company.
Both will be based in Hong Kong.
Murata previously served as Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s co-head of Asia-Pacific private investing and global co-head of real estate. He has been with Goldman for more than 25 years.
Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li’s insurance company FWD Group named Aman Chowla as the new chief executive officer for its Malaysian life insurance business.
The company also announced the renaming of the Kuala Lumpur-based business to FWD Insurance Berhad from Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad, following the company’s recent investment, together with other investors, in the business formerly known as Gibraltar BSN, on April 3.
Lee Kok Wah, previously CEO of Gibraltar BSN Life, is now chief financial officer of the new entity, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Chowla has more than 20 years of experience in the life and general insurance industry, having held CEO and chief operating officer roles for multinational insurance companies across Southeast Asia, including Prudential and AIA.
AMUNDI NAMES NEW JAPAN HEAD
Amundi has appointed Katsumi Fujikawa as country head of Japan, effective August 1. He also becomes a member of the executive committee of Amundi.
Fujikawa replaces Laurent Bertiau who has retired, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Fujikawa joined Amundi Japan in August 2021 as executive vice president and head of retail Business for Amundi in Japan.
He has previously held leadership positions at BlackRock Japan, and was most recently chief of staff to the country head and head of corporate strategy.
Before joining BlackRock, Katsumi worked at UBS Securities in Japan and Barclays de Zoete Wedd in London.
FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL APPOINTS CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
Fidelity International appointed Tan Jenn-Hui, former global head of stewardship and sustainable investing, to the newly created position of chief sustainability officer (CSO).
Tan is based in London and will report to Andrew McCaffery, global CIO, and Allan Pelvang, group general counsel, the firm told AsianInvestor.
The CSO role will have oversight of both Fidelity’s sustainable investing and corporate sustainability teams, covering investment management, advisory and personal investment platform services, and retirement solutions.
Tan will retain management of the sustainable investing team, while the corporate sustainability team will also report to him.
Victoria Kelly, head of corporate sustainability and enterprise relationships, led corporate sustainability team previously.
Tan joined Fidelity International in 2007 and was appointed global head of stewardship and sustainable investing in 2019.
Prior to Fidelity, he was with Norton Rose Fulbright, where he was a corporate finance lawyer advising on capital market and M&A transactions.
CAPCO NAMES APAC INSURANCE LEAD
Technology and management consultancy Capco has appointed Darren Pigg as a partner and its Asia-Pacific insurance lead.
Pig’s role at Capco is newly created, and the company’s insurance market leads across the region now report to him.
He is based in Hong Kong and reports to James Arnett, the firm’s APAC managing partner.
Pigg joins Capco following two years at Sun Life Asia, where he was the company’s chief transformation officer, also based in Hong Kong.
Prior to joining Sun Life, Pigg worked at KPMG Hong Kong/China and PwC.
He started his career as an economic adviser to the UK government.