Weekly roundup of people news, Nov 24
SUN HUNG KAI & CO NAMES DEPUTY CEO FOR FUND MANAGEMENT ARM
Sun Hung Kai & Co names Christophe Lee as deputy CEO of Sun Hung Kai Capital Partners, the firm’s funds management arm.
Lee joined in November. In the newly created role, he will oversee the alternative asset management business and the family office solutions service.
He reports to Lindsay Wright, CEO of SHKCP and Lee Seng Huang, chairman of SHK & Co.
Lee has over 32 years of financial services and asset management experience in Asia. Prior to joining SHK, he was the CEO of IDEG Asset Management (Hong Kong) and held senior positions at SHK Financial, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
IDEG Asset Management didn’t respond to AsianInvestor's enquiry about Lee’s replacement.
NZ SUPER SET TO ANNOUNCE NEW CEO
NZ Super's search for a new CEO is expected to conclude next month, with an announcement to be made before Christmas, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
The current CEO Matt Whineray will leave the fund at the end of this year to pursue other opportunities. Whineray said he will take some time out with his family before deciding on his next move. The frontrunner for the CEO role is the current CIO Stephen Gilmore.
At a function to celebrate NZ Super's 20th year of operation, leaders of several other sovereign funds, including Future Fund's CEO Raphael Arndt and GIC's Lim Chow Kiat, paid tribute to the New Zealand sovereign fund's performance and culture.
Since its inception in 2003, the Super Fund has returned 9.5% per year. Net Government contributions of approximately NZ$15.7 billion ($9.5 billion) during that time have been used to create an investment portfolio currently worth around NZ$65 billion.
TELSTRASUPER HIRES PORTFOLIO MANAGER FROM REST
TelstraSuper has recently bolstered its team by appointing Owen Lewis as a portfolio manager responsible for overseeing the infrastructure sector.
Lewis previously worked at Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (Rest) for four years as an analyst for the superannuation fund catering to retail workers.
Prior to that, he gained experience as a consultant at EY and as a transport analyst at Veitch Lister Consulting.
TelstraSuper told AsianInvestor that Lewis' position is a newly created role that will contribute to the expansion of the alternatives and real assets team within the organisation.
MERCER NAMES ASIA INVESTMENT SALES HEAD
Mercer has appointed Robert Ronneberger as head of investment sales for Asia, effective November 1.
In this newly created role, Ronneberger will focus on accelerating commercial activity and profitable growth across Mercer’s investment services. He will be based in Hong Kong and report to the Mercer Asia leadership team, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
His priorities include accelerating outsourced CIO (OCIO) prospecting activity across institutional segments such as pensions, financial institutions and not-for-profit organizations and further developing alternative investments activity in the region.
Ronneberger joined from BlackRock where his latest role was director of Asia-Pacific multi asset strategies and solutions and senior investment strategist with base in Hong Kong, according to his LinkedIn profile.
BlackRock did not respond to AsianInvestor’s enquiries regarding when Ronneberger left the firm and who took over his responsibilities.
Ronneberg has previously held roles at Allianz Global Investors and Merrill Lynch.
PGIM ADDS KOREA CLIENTS ADVISOR
PGIM Fixed Income has appointed Lee Soo-hee as vice president and client advisor as part of the Asia Pacific ex-Japan client advisory group, effective November.
Based in Hong Kong, Lee will spearhead the development and implementation of an institutional sales strategy for South Korea and expand PGIM Fixed Income’s relationship with Korean asset owners. Lee reports to Helen Chang, managing director and head of Asia Pacific ex-Japan.
Lee replaces Kim Yong-duk who left PGIM, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Lee was most recently head of Institutional Business at SEI Investments in Hong Kong, where he marketed multi-management and outsourced CIO investment services to institutional investors in Asia Pacific. SEI did not respond to AsianInvestor’s enquiries regarding when he left the firm and who took over his responsibilities.
Prior to SEI, Lee held roles at Amundi in Hong Kong as well as Samsung Asset Management, Samsung Securities and SK Corporation in Seoul.
ASFA APPOINTS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has announced Mary Delahunty as their forthcoming chief executive, scheduled to begin in February.
Leanne Turner, the interim chief since October, held the position following Martin Fahy's exit in May. Turner will retain her interim status until Delahunty assumes her duties.
Delahunty is transitioning from her own firm, Seven Advisory, where she held the role of managing director for nearly two years.
Prior to this, Delahunty served at HESTA for over a decade, beginning as the fund's head of impact in 2018. She later progressed to the role of general manager of business development and policy.
During her tenure, she contributed to the fund's expansion, policy development, and investment strategies, with a focus on enhancing member benefits.
Besides her executive roles, Delahunty maintains various board positions in the fields of regtech and education. She also earned recognition as a 2015 Churchill Fellow for her international research on gender equality in pension systems.
INCRED ADDS VICE CHAIRMAN
Singapore-based wealth advisory firm and multi-family office InCred Global Wealth (InCred) has appointed Arjun Badhwar as vice chairman, effective November 15.
In this newly created role, Badhwar will be based in Singapore but will travel extensively across InCred’s other office locations in Dubai and London, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Badhwar was most recently with Deutsche Bank’s Private Bank as deputy head for the global South Asia, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor, declining to comment on when Badhwar left the bank and who took over his role.
Badhwar has previously worked at Standard Chartered, UBS and JP Morgan.