Weekly roundup of people news, Jan 28
BRUNEI INVESTMENT AGENCY NAMES HEAD OF REAL ESTATE
The Brunei Investment Agency named Noorsurainah Tengah as head of real estate, the firm announced on January 26. This is in addition to her current role as head of alternative assets.
She takes over from Azmi Rahman Ibrahim who has recently left the firm.
Since 2019, Su has served as the executive manager and head of alternative assets, for the sovereign wealth fund, which was founded in 1983.
She has been with the Brunei Investment Agency for over 15 years and her prior positions have included the head of absolute return, portfolio manager private equity, assistant portfolio manager external fund management.
FORMER TEMASEK CEO JOINS EQT
Ho Ching, recently retired CEO of Temasek; Naina Lal Kidwai, former country head of HSBC India; and Svein Tore Holsether, have joined EQT, a global investment manager with 73 billion euros ($81 billion) assets under management, as EQT Future’s mission board executives, according to an announcement on January 27.
The mission board provides external objectivity to the fund’s strategic direction and sets standards for the firm's commitment to drive positive impact. The board is meant to challenge and support the firm's investment advisory team in the fund’s investment processes.
Ho was the former CEO of Temasek and left her role last October, after nearly two decades with the firm. Legal veteran Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, chief executive of Temasek International, the group's commercial arm, replaced her.
Naina is the former country head of HSBC India. She served as non-executive director of Nestlé’s board for 12 years until 2018.
Svein Tore is the president and CEO of Yara International, the world’s leading fertiliser company and a provider of environmental solutions.
APG MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR GLOBAL REAL ASSETS RELOCATES TO HONG KONG
APG Asset Management has relocated Patrick Kanters, managing director for global real estate and infrastructure to its Hong Kong office, to expand its real estate investment team in Asia Pacific.
Kanters has been with the Dutch pension fund, which has over $708 billion in assets under management, since 2005. He also currently serves as the chair for non-profit INREV.
Kanters will continue to manage APG’s global private real estate investment activities from his new base in Hong Kong and will also support the asset owner’s exploration into opening a Southeast Asia office in Singapore.
The news of Kanter’s relocation comes as the firm broadens its investments in sectors including data centres, rental residential and logistics.
MANULIFE HONG KONG ANNOUNCES SENIOR APPOINTMENTS
Manulife Hong Kong on Monday announced the senior appointments of Wilton Kee as chief financial officer and Danny Lee as chief product officer to strengthen the company’s leadership capabilities.
Both Kee and Lee are based in Hong Kong. Kee succeeds Rockson Leung, who has been recently appointed head of strategic cost and finance management, Asia. Lee succeeds Kee as chief product officer for Hong Kong and Macau. They have started on January 13, the life insurer told AsianInvestor.
Kee joined Manulife in 2013 as the pricing officer for individual financial products in Hong Kong. As the new chief financial officer, he oversees the financial functions of Manulife’s operations in Hong Kong and Macau, including financial reporting, planning and control, capital management and planning, asset-liability management, treasury, and other finance-related matters. He reports to Kenneth Rappold, chief financial officer, Manulife Asia, and Damien Green, chief executive officer of Hong Kong and Macau.
Lee, as the new chief product officer, is responsible for leading product development, pricing, and distribution compensation functions for both Hong Kong and Macau. He reports to Damien Green, chief executive officer of Hong Kong and Macau, and becomes a new member of the senior management team.
Lee joined Manulife Hong Kong in 2004. In recent years, he has led the company’s efforts to establish effective product mix management to optimise business growth and value.
WAYNE SWAN’S TENURE AS NEW CHAIR OF CBUS BEGINS
Cbus Super announced that former Federal Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan has commenced work as chair of the fund this month. Swan has replaced former chair Steve Bracks.
Swan will be joined on the Cbus board by Michelle Beveridge and Jason O’Mara, who are replacing Anthony McDonald and Dave Noonan respectively.
Beveridge will take over as Chair of the Cbus Audit and Finance Committee. She previously held executive roles including chief information officer and chief operating officer at Intrepid Travel, Open Universities Australia, and IDP Education Ltd. She was most recently an independent director of REI Superannuation Fund from 2017 to 2021 including the last two years as deputy board chair.
O’Mara has been CFMEU ACT secretary since 2018 and was the assistant secretary of the ACT branch for eight years. He is also the current chair of the ACT Work Health and Safety Council.
AUSTRALIAN INVESTMENT COUNCIL CHIEF EXECUTIVE DEPARTS AFTER 8 YEARS
Yasser El-Ansary has stepped down as chief executive of the Australian Investment Council (AIC), after eight years in the role, to take on a new role in the financial services industry. His new role has not yet been revealed.
El-Ansary will stay on for the new few months to assist with the transition as AIC begins the search for a new chief executive.
"I'm really proud of what we have been able to achieve in the eight years that I have been fortunate to lead the Council," said El-Ansary in an official statement.
"Now is the right time for me to step aside and enable a new leader to help write the script for how Australia's private capital investment industry can make an even bigger contribution to the economy and our community in the years ahead."
AXA IM ALTS APPOINTS HEAD OF CLIENT GROUP ALTS ASIA
AXA IM Alts, an alternative investment manager, has appointed Sandra Lee to the newly created role of head of client group alts Asia, reflecting the business’ growth ambitions in the region and highlighting its commitment to expanding and servicing its Asian client base, the firm said on Tuesday (January 25).
Joining AXA IM Alts in December 2021, Lee will be based in Hong Kong and will be responsible for raising new capital in the region. She will report to Florence Dard, global head of client group alts, and will work closely with the rest of client group alts to build and maintain long-term client relationships across key global markets.
Lee has held a number of senior roles including several years as head of Asia investment relations at alternative investment firm Angelo Gordon, and executive director of Morgan Stanley’s investment management division. Most recently she ran her own investment consultancy business to advise global businesses on strategy, investment management and social impact.
COLLIERS NAMES NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR OF HONG KONG BUSINESS
Real estate investment manager Colliers on Monday announced the appointment of Chun Kong Lau as managing director, Hong Kong, effective immediately.
Reporting to Sam Harvey-Jones, chief operating officer, Asia Pacific, Lau will be responsible for leading the growth of Colliers’ business in Hong Kong. He replaced Nigel Smith, who will return as senior consultant at Colliers Hong Kong after taking a leave of absence for personal reasons, the firm told AsianInvestor.
Lau joined Colliers in 2019 as managing director of the Asia valuation and advisory services business and has spearheaded the business growth. In his new capacity, Lau will continue to head the Asia valuation and advisory services business.
SSGA CONFIRMS CEO RETIREMENT
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) chief executive Cyrus Taraporevala will leave the firm later this year after just six years in the role.
Taraporevala took over from Ron O’Hanley, now the chief executive of State Street Corp., as CEO of SSGA in late 2017. Taraporevala is expected to stay in the role until the firm finds a replacement. The firm confirmed that the search for this role has already begun.
ROBECO OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES NEW HEAD OF FIXED INCOME ASIA
Dutch asset manager Robeco has officially announced the appointment of Thu Ha Chow to the newly created role of head of fixed income Asia.
Robeco had previously confirmed Chow’s appointment with AsianInvestor last week but released an official statement on January 25.
Chow is based in the Singapore office, where additional new hires in the fixed income and sustainability domains will expand the local team to eight investment professionals, comprising a lead portfolio manager, two credit analysts, a sovereign analyst, three sustainable investing specialists and a client portfolio manager.
With these new hires, Robeco is firmly establishing Singapore as the hub for its Asian fixed income investing with a strong focus on sustainability.
In addition to her role as head of fixed income Asia, Chow is also portfolio manager in the credit team with a focus on Asian credits. She will report to the credit team in Rotterdam.
DBS APPOINTS NEW CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
DBS appointed Helge Muenkel as the new chief sustainability officer with immediate effect, it announced on January 24.
Muenkel will take over the role from Mikkel Larsen, who in last November transitioned into his role as chief executive at Climate Impact X - a joint venture between DBS, the Singapore Exchange, Standard Chartered and Temasek.
Based in Singapore, he reports to Chng Sok Hui, chief financial officer at DBS. He will lead DBS’ sustainability and sustainable finance efforts to catalyse and enable greater ESG impact across the region, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Prior to joining DBS, Muenkel worked in Dutch bank ING as the head of Asia-Pacific, sustainable finance and global capital markets. ING declined to comment on his replacement.
UBP APPOINTS TEAM HEAD FOR GREATER CHINA MARKET
Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) added Victor Suen to its Greater China team who joined UBP on January 3 as managing director and team head for the Greater China market. He will report to Jonathan Lin, market head, Greater China.
In this role, Singapore-based Victor will further strengthen the bank’s Greater China client coverage and provide bespoke advisory to fulfil the sophisticated needs of the Greater China ultra-high-net-worth segment.
Victor joins UBP from China Construction Bank (Asia) where he was deputy head of relationship management. Previously, Victor held senior roles at Everbright Sun Hung Kai, HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong).
From January 2021 to January 2022, the bank has made 12 senior hires at managing director level in the region, ranging across various business units including client relationship management, client advisory and wealth planning.
FLOW DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE APPOINTS NEW CEO
FLOW Digital Infrastructure announced the appointment of Amandine Wang as its CEO, effective January 1, according to company announcement on January 21. She is based in Singapore.
The company focuses on investing in and operating key physical assets of the digital infrastructure ecosystem across the region, including cloud, hyperscale and enterprise data centres as well as network and fibre assets, leveraging the capital and resources of Hong Kong-based PAG Real Estate.
Wang is an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience across the digital infrastructure and real estate private equity spaces. Since 2013 she has led APAC acquisitions and investments at Digital Realty Trust, and previously held senior roles across major international institutions in digital infrastructure and real estate private equity, with a career spanning Paris, London and Singapore.