GREENWICH ASSOCIATES NAMES NEW ASIA HEAD

Paul Tan, former head of Asia Pacific at Greenwich Associates, left the financial services research house at the end of May to join US recruitment firm Spencer Stuart.

Greenwich has promoted Gaurav Arora, previously principal for banking, to replace Tan as regional head and leader of the corporate and banking division, said a spokeswoman for the firm. The markets practice will continue to be overseen by Parijat Banerjee, she added.

Tan will remain in Singapore for his new role at Spencer Stuart as executive search consultant covering financial services, which he took up this month.

He had been with US firm Greenwich since August 2013 and became head of Asia Pacific and the Middle East in June 2016, according to his LinkedIn page.

Chicago-based Spencer Stuart did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

JANUS HENDERSON’S ASIA DISTRIBUTION HEAD JOINS ACTIS

Private markets investor Actis has appointed Ellen Li as head of Asia for its investor development group.

Based in Hong Kong, she will report to Neil Brown, partner and global head of IDG, a statement from the company said. At Actis, Li will focus on fundraising and investor relations activities across Asia. It did not reply to a request for comment on when she would take up her duties.

AsianInvestor was not able to immediately ascertain whether Li’s role is new or whether she replaces someone at Actis.

Li was previously Asia head of institutional sales for Janus Henderson Investors.

She left the firm on May 31, a spokesman for Janus Henderson Investors told AsianInvestor. He said “considerations are being made with regards to her replacement” and that Li’s job responsibilities are for now being managed by the broader Asia distribution team.

Before joining Janus, Li had worked for Franklin Templeton.

Her departure follows the exit of Rob Adams, formerly head of pan-Asia for Janus Henderson.

LGIM HIRES FORMER ASIA HEAD OF SLI

UK-headquartered Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has hired David Peng as its head of Asia Pacific ex-Japan, AsianInvestor can confirm.

Peng, who joins on June 18, was previously head of Asia Pacific at Standard Life Investments; he left the asset manager at the end of March.

In his new role, Peng will report to Roger Bartley, vice-chairman for investments.

A spokeswoman said this was a new wider role that will have a greater focus on building relationships in mainland China.

Before Peng’s appointment, Alan Flynn was in charge of Asia operations, the spokeswoman said. She said Flynn remains in the company but did not provide details on whether his role had changed.

BLACKROCK APAC EQUITY MANAGER TO DEPART

Christopher Hall will leave his role as portfolio manager for Asia-Pacific equity income and Pacific equity portfolios at BlackRock later this year.

Hall, who managed four funds including BGF Asia Pacific equity income, BlackRock Asia Pacific equity income, BGF Pacific Equity, and BGF Asean leaders, will depart the firm in August, a BlackRock spokeswoman said.

Alethea Leung and Oisin Crawley, co-portfolio managers of all the funds Hall managed, will continue as portfolio managers of those funds, jointly taking over management of the Asia Pacific equity and Pacific equity portfolios, the spokeswoman added.

Leung reports to Crawley, who in turn reports to Andrew Swan, head of Asian and global emerging markets equities.

AsianInvestor was not able to ascertain where Hall will be going next.

FORMER HK FINANCIAL SECRETARY JOINS FINTECH FIRM

John Tsang, Hong Kong’s former financial secretary under the administration of ex-chief executive Leung Chun-ying, has joined fintech-focused merchant bank Ion Pacific as its vice-chairman.

Set up in 2015 in Hong Kong, Ion Pacific has licences to trade securities, offer corporate finance and handle asset management, according to a news report that the firm puts on the press release section of its website.

The company has not replied to AsianInvestor’s query about who, if anyone, Tsang replaced, and other information.

HSBC PB APPOINTS REGIONAL ALTS CHIEF

Edward Moon joined HSBC Private Banking as Asia head of alternatives in June, a spokeswoman confirmed to AsianInvestor.

He reports to Abdel Tkhayet, co-head of investment services and production solutions for HSBC Private Banking Asia Pacific.

He joins from Bank of Singapore, where he was executive director, according to his LinkedIn profile. The LinkedIn profile also indicates he has relocated from Singapore to Hong Kong for the new role.

Bank of Singapore did not respond to queries from AsianInvestor about when Moon left or whether a replacement had been named.

In November last year, Sam Edwards, HSBC Private Banking’s Asia head of alternatives investment, left to join Longreach Alternatives as managing director.

CREDIT SUISSE NAMES HEAD OF JAPAN EQUITIES

Swiss bank Credit Suisse has appointed Nick Silver as managing director and head of equities in Japan, according to an internal announcement seen by AsianInvestor.

Silver will join the bank in September in this newly created role, and will be responsible for the growth of its equities business in Japan.

He will be based in Tokyo, and he will report to Neil Hosie, head of equities for Asia-Pacific, and Martin Keeble, chief executive for Japan.

Silver was most recently head of client financing and co-head of equity execution for Asia-Pacific at Deutsche Bank. Deutsche declined to comment on his exit date and his replacement.

CITI PB LOSES GLOBAL HEAD FOR INDIAN CLIENTS 

Citi Private Bank’s global head of the Indian client segment, Debashish Dutta Gupta, is set to leave the group, a spokeswoman confirmed to AsianInvestor.

The spokeswoman declined to comment on when Singapore-based Gupta's last day at the private bank would be or whether a replacement would be appointed.

AsianInvestor could not ascertain Gupta’s next move.

MALAYSIA’S CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR RESIGNS

Bank Negara Malaysia governor Muhammad bin Ibrahim has resigned, the central bank said in a media statement.

A new governor will be appointed based on the royal consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong [king] , the bank said.

The central bank governor, who was appointed in 2016 and resigned three years before the end of his term, is the latest in what is becoming a growing list of executives being displaced from their posts in the aftermath of former prime minister Najib Razak's general election defeat in May.

Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional earlier announced that Najib had resigned as chairman of the board, effective May 31.

A Reuters report noted that Malaysia was also seeking to replace Tajuddin Atan, the stock exchange’s chief executive, whose term is not due to end until March next year.

ORRICK HIRES PARTNER FOR M&A AND PE PRACTICE

Orrick has appointed Sarah Zeng as a partner in its merger and acquisitions and private equity group.

Zeng, who took up her Beijing-based role on June 4, reports to Ed Batts, US-based head of Orrick’s global M&A and private equity practice.

It is a newly created role as Orrick expands the M&A practice, a company spokeswoman said, without addressing AsianInvestor’s query as to who looked after the work she has now taken up.

Zeng most recently served as managing partner of rival firm Denton, which has not replied to AsianInvestor’s query about her departure.

AUSTRALIA’S EQUITY TRUSTEES APPOINTS BOARD CHAIR

Equity Trustees, which operates the Executive Superannuation Fund in Australia, has appointed Tony Lally as chairman of the board of Equity Trustees Superannuation Limited Board.

The appointment took effect on June 1, and Lally replaces John Crocker, who retires from the position.

Lally was the CEO of superannuation fund Sunsuper for six years until 2013, after which he has taken up non-executive director positions in various organisations, according to his LinkedIn profile.

AVALOQ BULKS UP AUSTRALIA TEAM

Wealth technology services provider Avaloq has appointed Anantha Ayer as general manager and head of Australia, and James Land as managing director for Australia.

Both are based in Sydney. Ayer (pictured) reports to Chris Beukers, Singapore-based regional manager for Asia Pacific, while Land reports to Ayer.

Ayer was promoted internally as he was previously chief executive of Avaloq’s service centre for the Asia-Pacific region. The appointment took effect on June 4.

Land joined Avaloq on April 3. He previously worked at Thomson Reuters, where he was head of market development for Pacific and Asia head of market development for the buyside. His LinkedIn profile showed that he left the company in December 2016.

The two positions are new roles underlining the importance of Australia for Avaloq, a company spokesman said, without elaborating on who were responsible for the duties now taken up by the duo before they came on board.

Other people move news reported by AsianInvestor last week:

Aberdeen Standard loses China insto exec

Texas Teachers pension fund eyes Asia office