HKMA APPOINTS NEW CEO
Hong Kong Monetary Authority has promoted Eddie Yue from deputy chief executive to CEO to replace Norman Chan, who will retire on October 1.
Yue is appointed for a term of five years with an annual salary of HK$7 million and annual performance-linked pay capped at HK$2.3 million, according to a government announcement.
Yue is one of the three deputy CEOs at HKMA. Asked if the institution would replace Yue, a spokesman said it would "appoint suitable candidates to senior management positions".
MAS'S CHIEF DATA OFFICER MOVES INTO AI-FOCUSED ROLE
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, the city's de facto central bank and financial regulator, has appointed chief data officer David Hardoon as a special adviser on artificial intelligence, effective July 18, as part of the city's plans. MAS has not had a dedicated special adviser for AI before.
Relinquishing his CDO role, Hardoon will help develop the AI strategy for Singapore’s financial sector, working closely with chief fintech officer Sopnendu Mohanty and MAS's fintech and innovation group, a spokeswoman told AsianInvestor.
Hardoon now reports to Jacqueline Loh, a deputy managing director at MAS for markets and development. He previously reported to Vincent Loy, assistant managing director of MAS’s technology group, who will now cover the CDO function until a replacement is found, a spokeswoman said.
MAS plans to intensify its collaboration with industry to deepen the use of AI in financial services, a spokeswoman said. This reflects the city's ambitions to become a regional fintech hub.
EFG AM LOSES HONG KONG CEO
UK-based EFG Asset Management has named Arjun Panchapagesan as Hong Kong chief executive as of July 8 following the departure of predecessor Andrew Lee to pursue other interests, a spokeswoman said.
Panchapagesan remains Asia head of discretionary portfolio management and continues to report to Moz Afzal, global chief investment officer.
Lee had been with EFG AM since 2012, according to his LinkedIn page. He did not respond to AsianInvestor’s queries about his future plans.
WMA REPLACES HEAD OF INVESTMENT SERVICES
Singapore-based Wealth Management Alliance has appointed Kenny Chong as head of investment services, effective July 1. As such, he oversees the selection of funds and other investment products for the independent wealth manager.
Chong reports to Stephen Repkow, founder and chief executive of the independent wealth management firm. He replaces Ron Lee, who left WMA in July, Repkow said.
Chong was previously a portfolio manager at Marathon Asset Management, which did not respond to queries as to when Chong left or whether the role had been filled.
JP MORGAN AM ADDS ASIA ETF SPECIALIST
JP Morgan Asset Management has named Nick Kim as an exchange-traded fund specialist in its Asia beta strategies team, which was set up in late 2017.
The Hong Kong-based team is expected to grow to eight members from seven by the end of 2019, a spokeswoman said.
In his newly created role, Kim is responsible for strengthening ETF client relationships and working with the broader team on product development, the spokeswoman said. He reports to Sean Cunningham, head of Asia ETFs.
Kim joins from Korea's Mirae Asset Global Investment, where he was a Hong Kong-based global ETF sales vice president.
MSCI APPOINTS ESG CLIENT COVERAGE HEAD FOR APAC
Index provider MSCI has appointed Chitra Hepburn as head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) client coverage for Asia Pacific, effective July 8.
Hepburn is based in Shanghai and reports to Jack Lin, Hong Kong-based head of Asia-Pacific client coverage. Hepburn's role is newly created; her responsibilities were previously part of Lin's remit.
She was most recently a managing director at UK-based outsourcing business provider E-Solutions Group, where she worked with corporates to create and implement ESG metrics for investor roadshows.
CAPITAL GROUP HIRES DISTRIBUTION HEAD FOR EUROPE, ASIA
US asset manager Capital Group has appointed Guy Henriques as London-based head of Europe and Asia distribution, starting on November 25.
The role has been created to strategically lead the firm's distribution across both regions, a spokeswomand told AsianInvestor.
Henriques is currently head of UK distribution and chief executive for Latin America at British fund house Schroders.
A spokeswoman at Schroders said Henriques's last day with the firm had not yet been scheduled and his successor as LatinAmerica CEO had not been decided.
He will not be directly replaced as head of UK distribution. John Griffiths, head of UK institutional, and Phil Middleton, head of UK intermediary business, will continue to lead those divisions, reporting to John Troiano, global head of distribution.
Henriques had worked at Schroders since October 2006, in roles including head of the institutional global management team, president of Schroders Japan, and head of institutional for Asia-Pacific. Before that, he was head of asset management at the Bank for International Settlements, where he worked from 1991 to 2006.
CITI NAMES NEW APAC HEAD OF EXECUTION SERVICES
Citi has appointed Curt Engler, the former Americas head of trading at JP Morgan Asset Management, as its Hong Kong-based head of execution services for Asia Pacific.
Engler will join the US bank in the third quarter, moving to Hong Kong from New York, and will oversee execution desks for cash equities across 12 markets in the region.
Citi declined to say who held the post before Engler.
He will report regionally to Julia Raiskin, Singapore-based head of investor sales and relationship management, and Richard Heyes, Hong Kong-based head of Asia-Pacific equities.
Globally, Engler will report to Peter Lambrakis, New York-based global head of cash equities, and Antonin Jullier, London-based global head of equity sales, the spokesman said.
BNY MELLON IM MARKETING HEAD EXITS
BNY Mellon Investment Management's Asia-Pacific marketing manager, Hong Kong-based Freda Amir, departed last week, the firm’s spokeswoman told AsianInvestor.
She added that Elizabeth Gerrard, vice president of marketing for Asia Pacific, has moved from London to Hong Kong to manage the region’s marketing activities on an interim basis.
The spokesman said the firm was in the process of identifying a replacement.
JLL ADDS TO CHINA VALUATION ADVISORY TEAM
US-based property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle has appointed Joseph Yee as senior director for China valuation advisory services (VAS) for Southeast Asia.
Yee has started his new role and succeeds James Lai, who retired a few months ago, a spokeswoman told AsianInvestor.
Based in Singapore, Yee will lead the team’s business development work in Southeast Asia. He will report to Simon Chan, director of corporate advisory and valuation in China.
Yee joined JLL on 1 October 2002. Until recently, Yee served as senior director of VAS at JLL Singapore, and previously served the role as head of VAS and research and consultancy in Vietnam.
INVESTCORP APPOINTS BOARD ADVISER IN HONG KONG
Investcorp, a Bahrain-based alternative asset manager, has appointed Frederick Ma to its international advisory board.
Ma took up the Hong Kong-based role on July 1. He is also an independent non-executive director of Hong Kong-based insurance firm FWD Group and a director of Husky Energy, a Canada-based energy company controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing.
Investcorp has operations in Singapore and Mumbai in Asia. Since the start of 2019, the firm has made some 20 new appointments across investment, sales and operations in these two offices, a company spokeswoman said.
