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Weekly roundup of people news, Oct 28

HSBC PB rings changes at the top; JPM AM replaces property research head; Northern Trust hires fund services chief; Taiwan FSC replaces chair; Robeco adds wholesale exec; Nicholas Furze switches search firms; Zedra appoints Singapore head; Indosuez WM names Mid East chief.
Weekly roundup of people news, Oct 28

HSBC Private Bank rings leadership changes
HSBC Private Bank has brought in replacements for both its Asia-Pacific head and its Asia-Pacific head of global solutions. 

Tan Siew Meng becomes Asia-Pacific head of global private banking, to replace Bernard Rennell, with effect from January 1, 2017.

Rennell will take on a newly created role in Hong Kong as senior adviser for key client coverage to Peter Boyles, chief executive of global private banking. 

Based in Hong Kong, Tan reports to both Boyles and Peter Wong, Hong Kong-based deputy chairman and chief executive of HSBC.

Tan joined the private bank from HSBC’s commercial banking division, where she was Asia-Pacific head of global trade and receivables finance. Before taking on that role in May last year, she was Thailand CEO at HSBC.

A spokeswoman said the bank was considering possibilities for replacing Tan.

In his new role, Rennell will be responsible for relationships with key clients across Asia Pacific and leading the family governance and family succession divisions globally.

Rennell has been the private bank’s regional head since March 2014, before which he was North Asia head from 2011 to 2014.

Meanwhile, Johnny Liu takes over from Terrence Liang as Asia-Pacific head of global solutions. Liang will move into a new senior relationship management role at the bank, which declined to provide further details about the post.

Based in Hong Kong, Liu reports to Ivan Wong, Asia-Pacific head of investment services and product solutions.

Liu joined from Credit Suisse, where he had been head of shareholder coverage and corporate advisory for greater China since 2013. 

JPM AM names new Asia property research head
JP Morgan Asset Management has hired Kenneth Tsang as Asia-Pacific head of research and strategy for real estate from specialist manager Red Capital Asia.

Tsang (pictured right) took over the duties, which were previously part of the remit of New York-based Pulkit Sharma, in October. Sharma will focus on leading the firm’s real asset portfolio construction and strategy in a team called global real asset omni solutions.

Based in Hong Kong, Tsang reports to Rob Johnson, managing director of real estate for Asia Pacific. JPM AM’s real estate arm managed $95 billion as of June 30.

Tsang’s appointment comes after two UK firms – Standard Life Investments and Schroders – set up new property teams in Singapore in recent months. 

At Red Capital, Tsang was a managing director mainly responsible for China strategy. The Hong Kong-based manager specialises in real estate equity, structured debt and hybrid instruments. Red Capital has secured a replacement, who is expected to be on board in November.

Prior to joning Red Capital, Tsang was senior research analyst for Hong Kong and China property equities at Sanford C. Bernstein. He has also worked for LaSalle Investment Management and ING Real Estate Investment Management (now CBRE Global Investors).

Northern Trust hires Asia fund services head 
Chicago-based Northern Trust has hired Caroline Higgins (pictured left) from rival custodian firm Brown Brother Harriman (BBH) as its new Asia head of global fund services. She joined on August 1 and remains in Hong Kong for the new post.

Peter Jordan, Asia-Pacific head of global fund services, had previously covered the role as part of his remit since August 2014, when he took over from Camie West. She returned to Chicago as head of strategic client relationships for global fund services.

At BBH, Higgins was head of transfer agency for Asia. She has 25 years of experience in the fund-servicing industry, having also worked in Ireland and Australia.

Taiwan FSC appoints new chairman
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has appointed Lee Ruey-tsang as its new chairman, effective October 27.

His predecessor, Ding Kung-wha, resigned on October 3 following criticism of the regulator’s handling of a breach of compliance rules in the US by Taiwanese state-run group Mega Financial Holdings. Vice chairman Huang Tian-mu was named acting chair in the interim. 

Lee was most recently chairman of Bank of Kaohsiung from November 2015 to October this year. Before that, he was director-general of the finance bureau for the city of Kaohsiung. Lee has also worked in Taipei for state-owned Bank of Taiwan as managing director and acting chairman, and as political deputy minister at the Ministry of Finance.

Chien Chen-cheng, director general of the finance bureau of the municipal government of Kaohsiung, is currently acting chairman for Bank of Kaohsiung.

Robeco adds Singapore wholesale executive
Dutch fund house Robeco has hired Dawn Foo as vice president for wholesale business in its newly opened Singapore office. Covering banks and wealth managers in the city, she reports to Nick Shaw, London-based head of global financial institutions.

Effective on September 15, Foo’s role is newly created as part of the buildout of Robeco’s Singapore office, which opened in July and is headed by Maurice Meijers.

Prior to joining Robeco, Foo was Asia head of the global strategic partners group at US firm Pioneer Investments, responsible for developing partnerships with large banking and multi-management platforms. She has also worked for HSBC Private Bank.

Pioneer said Foo’s last day with the firm was August 12, but declined to comment on whether she had been or would be replaced. 

Nicholas Furze switches to Spencer Stuart 
Recruitment firm Spencer Stuart has hired Nicholas Furze to its Greater China practice in Hong Kong, AsianInvestor can reveal. He joined this month to focus on senior appointments for traditional and alternative asset managers, insurers and banks. 

Spencer Stuart declined to comment on whether Furze (pictured right) had replaced anyone.

He previously worked for rival recruiter Profile Search in Hong Kong for seven years. Furze co-ran the Hong Kong asset management practice with Andrew Oliver, Asia head of the financial services practice.

Profile may recruit someone in time, but there is no real hole to fill in the short term, Oliver told AsianInvestorHe said he would continue to co-run the buy-side team with Stanley Teo, who is based in Singapore.

Trust provider Zedra names Singapore head  
Zedra, a trust and corporate services provider formerly owned by UK bank Barclays, has hired Wendy Sim from HSBC as head of Singapore, as the firm looks to expand in Asia. 

Before she joined, James Bates was acting managing director. He is responsible for various trust administration teams in the Singapore office.

Sim is responsible for developing pan-Asian family governance solutions and helping global families looking for Asia-based structures.

She joined from HSBC Private Bank (Singapore), where she had been head of family governance and family enterprise succession for South Asia since January 2015. HSBC declined to comment on the departure.

Sim had worked for HSBC Private Bank in Singapore since 2006, in roles covering wealth structuring, trust relationship management and wealth planning.

Zedra is the new name for Barclays’ trust and fiduciary business, after after a group of investors acquired it in January. The firm has 10 offices globally, including Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore in Asia.  

Indosuez WM names Middle East head 
Indosuez Wealth Management, part of Paris-based Credit Agricole, appointed François Farjallah as its new Middle East head on October 24. He was previously head of country market managers at Societe Generale Private Banking. 

Based in Geneva, Farjallah covers all wealth management activities for Indosuez WM in offices in the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. Indosuez did not respond to queries about who was the Middle East head before Farjallah.

SG Private Banking said it was not seeking a replacement for Farjallah following a change in the organisation.

Farjallah spent nine years at SGPB in senior executive roles across Switzerland, Luxembourg, Greece and the UAE. 

Other people news reported by AsianInvestor in the past week:

Adia opens HK office, enhancing China access 

Newton poaches trading head from Principal

CIC seen rebuilding management team

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