Weekly roundup of people news, Dec 15
DBS REPLACES HONG KONG HEAD OF WEALTH MANAGMENT AND CONSUMER BANKING
DBS has appointed Ajay Mathur as head of the consumer banking group and wealth management for its Hong Kong business, effective immediately.
Mathur replaces Royce Teo, who will return to Singapore. DBS declined to comment on what Teo would do next.
Mathur was previously ANZ’s deputy CEO and director of retail and private banking in Indonesia. He will report to DBS Hong Kong chief executive Sebastian Paredes.
He has previously worked for Royal Bank of Scotland in Singapore.
DBS announced it was acquiring ANZ’s wealth management and retail banking business in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Indonesia in October 2016.
CITI RESHUFFLES ASIA MANAGEMENT TEAM
Citi Private Bank has announced further changes to its management team after the recent appointment of Steven Lo as regional head in the wake of predecessor Bassam Salem’s decision to retire.
Rudolf Hitsch has been appointed North Asia head, Jyrki Rauhio as South Asia head, and Akbar Shah has been named head of business development.
All three will report to Steven Lo and the appointments are effective from February 1, 2018. Citi PB said the roles were newly created.
Hitsch, who now heads the offshore private bank business for clients from China and Taiwan, will add on coverage for Hong Kong in his new role as North Asia head.
Rauhio, now head of investment finance for the private bank in Asia, will have coverage for Asean, Australia, New Zealand, and global India in his new role. The private bank did not clarify what global India meant.
Rauhio will also report to Amol Gupte, Asean head and chief executive officer for Citi Singapore, for his Asean responsibilities.
Shah will be responsible for client acquisition and the establishment of the Asia Pacific Advisory Board, which will become an important source of strategic guidance and client engagement for the business in the region.
AsianInvestor was unable to ascertain Shah’s current title as the private bank did not respond to queries by press time.
The bank also did not respond to queries on who is now responsible for the various duties the new appointees will take up.
Global market manager for Asean, Jessica Poh, will report to Jyrki Rauhio, and will be responsible for developing new and deepening mega-wealthy client relationships within the South Asia region.
SSGA APPOINTS ASIA EX-JAPAN COO
US asset manager State Street Global Advisors has appointed Betty Ng as chief operating officer for Asia ex-Japan, effective December 11.
The Hong Kong-based role is newly created and part of the company’s growth strategy for Asia ex-Japan, June Wong, head of Asia ex-Japan, told AsianInvestor.
Ng, who reports to Wong, was brought in to help manage business development initiatives, Wong told AsianInvestor.
Prior to the creation of the role, Wong and other senior executives had oversight of the company’s regional growth initiatives, Wong added.
Most recently, Ng was general manager of private wealth management at the Agricultural Bank of China in Hong Kong.
She had held various senior roles at Standard Chartered Bank, including chief operating officer of private banking for Northeast Asia and general manager of wealth management and priority banking. She has also previously worked for Citi and Jardine Fleming.
Agricultural Bank of China did not respond to queries from AsianInvestor by press time.
BNP PARIBAS AM HIRES HEAD OF WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION SALES IN JAPAN
BNP Paribas Asset Management has appointed Kaoru Fukae as head of wholesale distribution sales in Japan.
Fukae started on October 1, and is responsible for building and developing the asset manager’s wholesale business in the country.
Based in Tokyo, he reports to Shimazaki Ryohei, chief executive of Japan, and Christian Bucaro, chief executive in Singapore and head of wholesale distribution for Asia Pacific.
Fukae replaces Luca Restuccia, who has relocated to Paris to head up the business management team for Latin America and Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Most recently, Fukae was head of fund sales at JP Morgan Asset Management in Japan.
JP Morgan AM declined to comment on Fukae’s replacement.
MAN GROUP POACHES SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE FROM LAZARD
Man Group has hired a senior member of staff to cover the institutional client business in Asia.
Effective December 11, Charmian Wan joined the UK fund house as managing director in the institutional sales team in Hong Kong. She reports to Hersh Gandhi, Sydney-based managing director for Asia Pacific.
This is a newly created role, as the company expands the team in Hong Kong to cater for growing demand for institutional investors across Asia, according to a spokesman. Wan is not the head of the sales team, the spokesman added.
She was previously head of business development and marketing for Asia ex-Japan at Lazard Asset Management, which declined to comment on her departure.
STANDARD CHARTERED PB’S GREATER CHINA MARKET HEAD RESIGNS
Kimmis Pun, Singapore-based market head of Greater China (Singapore) for private banking at Standard Chartered, will be leaving the bank.
Standard Chartered is now recruiting her successor. In the interim, Teddy Kwong, market head of Greater China for private banking, has taken over her responsibilities, a spokeswoman said. She did not say exactly when Pun was leaving the company.
Pun has been with the Standard Chartered for nearly two years. She was previously the head of China for private banking at BNP Paribas.
NATIXIS HIRES HEAD OF GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR APAC
Natixis has hired a senior executive as it seeks to become a leader in green and sustainable finance.
Huang Chaoni took on the newly-created role of director of green and sustainable solutions for Asia Pacific at the bank in September. Her duties include developing localised green indices and products for investor clients in the region.
Based in Hong Kong, Huang reports globally to Orith Azoulay, Paris-based global head of green and sustainable solutions, and locally to Raghu Narain, Hong Kong-based head of investment banking for Asia Pacific.
Prior to joining Natixis, Huang was head of business development for Asia at S&P Trucost, which was not able to comment on her departure by press time.
UBS WEALTH MANAGEMENT CHIEF STEPS DOWN, SUCCESSOR ANNOUNCED
Martin Blessing, currently president of personal and corporate banking and president of UBS Switzerland, is set to become president of wealth management for the Swiss group.
He succeeds Jürg Zeltner, who will step down from the group executive board at the end of this year and retire in early 2018.
Zeltner has been responsible for the wealth management business of UBS outside of North America as well as a member of the group executive board for the past nine years. He has been with the wealth firm for around 30 years.
Blessing has run UBS's Swiss business since September 2016.
Prior to UBS, Blessing spent 15 years on the board of managing directors at Commerzbank.
Axel P. Lehmann, group chief operating officer, will succeed Blessing in his former role.
Lehmann has previously worked for Zurich Insurance Group.
Sabine Keller-Busse will take on the Lehmann’s former role and will retail her current title of group head of human resources.
All the appointments take effect on January 1.
BANK J SAFRA SARASIN HIRES FOR UHNW TEAM
Onnah Liew has joined Bank J. Safra Sarasin’s ultra high net worth (UHNW) team as a managing director for client advisory and team head, effective December 12.
Based in Singapore, she reports to Vinay Gandhi, managing director and chief executive officer for ultra high net worth clients in Asia.
Gandhi is also based in Singapore.
Liew joins from Deutsche Wealth Management, where she was a managing director for Southeast Asia and team leader since 2007.
She has also previously worked for Credit Suisse, ABN Amro and OCBC Bank. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Wealth Management confirmed the departure but did not provide any more details.
FORMER PICC CHAIRMAN WU YAN BECOMES NCSSF VICE CHAIRMAN
China's ruling State Council has announced a change of vice chairman for the National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF).
Wu Yan was appointed vice chairman of the state pension manager, the State Council said on December 8.
Wang Zhongmin, the former vice chairman, is dismissed from the role, the State Council said, without further elaboration. AsianInvestor could not ascertain Wang’s next move.
Wu was previously the chairman of PICC, China’s largest property-and-casualty insurer. PICC vice president Miao Jianmin was tipped by Chinese media to be his successor.
JULIUS BAER APPOINTS MD IN SINGAPORE
Swiss private bank Julius Baer has hired a senior executive in Singapore and nominated a former Asia-based banker to its board of directors.
The bank has hired Febby Avianto as Singapore-based managing director, a bank spokeswoman confirmed.
A spokeswoman for Julius Baer did not provide any futher details on the hire.
Avianto was most recently head of Southeast Asia at Swiss private bank Union Bancaire Privée.
UBP declined to comment on Avianto’s departure and his replacement.
In a separate development, Julius Baer’s board of directors will also propose former Goldman Sachs partner, Richard Campbell-Breeden, to join its board of directors.
Campbell-Breeden retired as a partner last year from Goldman Sachs, where he held various senior roles including chairman of mergers and acquisitions and vice-chairman of investment banking for Asia ex-Japan.
The board will propose Campbell-Breeden’s membership at the annual general meeting on April 11, 2018.
Other people news reported by AsianInvestor in the past week:
StanChart pares, shuffles research heads
Read more at: http://www.asianinvestor.net/article/julie-koo-resigns-from-ubs-am-weighing-her-options/441656
Read more at: http://www.asianinvestor.net/article/stanchart-pares-shuffles-research-heads/441617