August may be a holiday month in many countries but there were plenty of news announcements of moves and appointments during that month in Asia.

RBC Wealth Management added two senior figures to its private banking teams in Hong Kong and Singapore. Andrew Cheng joined the Hong Kong team, reporting to Vicky Lin, deputy head, private banking, Greater China. Andrew White joined the Singapore team, reporting to Dom Lane, executive director and team head, private banking. The duo joined RBC Wealth Management in June 2019.

Cheng has more than 30 years of experience in financial services, primarily focused on serving high net worth private banking clients. Prior to this, he was at CA Indosuez (Switzerland) in Hong Kong where he was managing director, and prior to that, ANZ Bank in Hong Kong where he was market head – China, private bank. White will be primarily focused on the business’ Asia’s Global Families client segment. He brings 14 years of industry experience, 12 of which were spent with Sandaire, the multi-family office, most recently as chief investment officer (Asia) for Sandaire’s Singapore office. White is a CFA Charterholder.

Natixis Investment Managers appointed two senior figures in Singapore. Diane Poon was appointed in a newly-created role as head of wholesale, Southeast Asia ex-Singapore. She is responsible for expanding Natixis IM’s wholesale business in neighbouring countries.

Poon joined Natixis from PIMCO, where she used to service private banks and SEA countries as vice president of their Global Wealth Management team. Prior to this, she worked at UBS for several years. Bonnie Wan, who has been appointed vice president, distribution marketing, has 12 years of marketing experience in business-to-business financial services marketing across Asia-Pacific, including nine years in asset management. Before joining the firm, Wan worked at UBS Asset Management and BNP Paribas Asset Management in Hong Kong and Singapore, Eastspring Investments in Singapore and Blackrock in Hong Kong.

EFG International and EFG Bank appointed Amy Yip, a prominent former banking executive in Hong Kong, as the new chair of the Asia-Pacific advisory board, with immediate effect. Yip succeeded Fong Seng Tee, who announced his decision to step down as chair at the bank’s 2019 annual meeting. 

Yip has more than 40 years' experience in various leadership and managerial roles for global players in the region. She is a member of the board of directors of Fidelity International, Deutsche Boerse, Temenos and American International Group. 

Avaloq appointed Imad Abou Haidar as its new head for Asia. Haidar starts in October at the role, moving from London software firm Finastra, which he joined in 2016 as managing director for Asia-Pacific based in Singapore. Previously, he served as Asian head of business development for the French tech solutions firm Murex, and headed software sales and pre-sales for Moody’s Analytics in the region. He reports to Paco Hauser.

Southeast Asian insurance technology firm Inmediate Pte appointed Michael Gourlay as its independent non-executive and advisor. He advises the firm and its constituents - such as insurance companies, re-insurers and third-party administrators - about how to best use new technologies such as artificial intelligence, distributed ledger tech, and blockchain. Gourlay has 40 years' experience in international markets, mostly in Asia.

Volker Köster, who held a top post at Credit Suisse, based in Zurich, moved to Singapore for a new role as Asia-Pacific investment management boss. The bank also appointed Daniel Imhof to run its global platinum solutions and client services business and as deputy global head of investment management. He took over from Köster.

Imhof is in charge of portfolio management and client services worldwide. Imhof moved from London where he spent two years as head of global sales at Schroders. Before that he spent 25 years at UBS, finally serving as global head of portfolio specialists in charge of discretionary, advisory and investment funds distribution. In his new role, Imhof reports to investment management head Björn Jesch.

Investec Asset Management appointed Amy Leung to join its China equity team. Leung joined a group of Asia, China and emerging market specialists in the Investec 4Factor Global Equity capability. Based in Hong Kong, she reports to Greg Kuhnert, portfolio manager of the Investec All China and Asian equity strategies, and co-head of 4Factor equities.

Bank of Singapore appointed former Credit Suisse senior figure Kelvin Teo as head of bespoke investments for Greater China and North Asia. Teo explores opportunities for UHNW clients, such as direct investments in regional “unicorns” (a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion), and related areas, and solutions in areas such as buyout funds and property-linked financial instruments. Based in Hong Kong, Teo reports locally to Derrick Tan, chief executive of Bank of Singapore’s Hong Kong Branch and global market head for Greater China and North Asia, and functionally to Carolyn Tham, global head of UHNW Bespoke Investments. Tham is based in Singapore.

Singapore-headquartered HP Wealth Management added four senior figures to its ranks. They were Shirreen Sin, who has worked at Citi, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank; Tshua Ngee, who started his career with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He worked at Citibank, Western Asset Management and Bank of Singapore. Most recently he was head of fixed income with a Singapore-based independent asset manager. Another joiner was Edward Pang, who started his professional career at Smith Barney in Seattle, before returning to Singapore and joining Citibank as a financial advisor. For the last two years he served clients through an IAM. Finally, Adriel Chua joined from another IAM.

The Trident Trust Group hired two senior practitioners to join its company secretarial team, boosting the services for businesses listed or intending to list on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Mandy Mok and Mavis Lai joined Trident Trust’s team in Hong Kong.

Pictet shook up its Asian wealth management business with a raft of boardroom changes and it added 18 recruits.

Claude Haberer, equity partner of the Pictet Group and chief executive of Pictet Wealth Management (PWM) Asia, was named chairman of PWM Asia. Tee Fong-Seng succeeded him as CEO. Alex Ng took over as CEO Hong Kong Branch and of PWM North Asia from Sharon Chou, who took the new role of deputy CEO of PWM Asia.

Haberer supports Boris Collardi, the group’s managing partner responsible for PWM Asia. Haberer led the expansion of Pictet’s wealth management business since 2011.

Tee Fong-Seng was most recently chairman of EFG Bank’s Asia advisory board. Previously, he was vice chairman in Asia and CEO of the Hong Kong branch for Credit Suisse, among other senior positions. He is based in Singapore. Dominique Jooris, CEO of PWM South Asia and of Bank Pictet & Cie (Asia) in Singapore, report to Tee Fong-Seng.

Sharon Chou, CEO of PWM North Asia and of Pictet’s branch in Hong Kong, was a central figure in growing the firm’s North Asian wealth management business. She assumed the position of deputy CEO of PWM Asia, reporting to Tee Fong-Seng. With effect from November, Tee Fong-Seng is joined by Alex Ng, along with a team of 18 professionals with Greater China expertise, who are based in Hong Kong. Alex Ng, previously Credit Suisse’s market head for China, took over from Chou as CEO Hong Kong Branch and of PWM North Asia. Ng has 30 years’ experience in wealth management in the Greater China markets, first with Citi and UBS, then with Credit Suisse. He is based in Hong Kong, reporting to Tee Fong-Seng.

HSBC Singapore added Penny Goh and Josh Bottomley to the board. Goh is co-chair and senior partner heading corporate real estate for the law firm Allen & Gledhill. She is also a non-executive director and chair of Keppel REIT Management, and chair and lead independent director of the nominating and remuneration committees of Mapletree Logistics Trust Management. As an independent board director for HSBC in Singapore, Goh also sits on its audit and risk committees. Since May 2013, Bottomley has been HSBC global head of digital, retail banking and wealth management. Prior to this, he held various senior posts, including global head, display of Google and managing director of LexisNexis, UK & Ireland.

Global asset manager Merian Global Investors (MGI) added to its Asia sales team, appointing Karen Cheng as director of North Asia sales, with a primary focus on Hong Kong and South Korea. She reports to Edward Ho, head of North Asia sales. Cheng joined from T Rowe Price where she was head of Hong Kong intermediaries. During her 18 years in the sector, she has worked in a range of distribution and client services roles, including six years in intermediary sales at JP Morgan Asset Management. She started her career at HSBC Canada and has held positions at HSBC Private Bank and Coutts.

The China market group head of Credit Suisse left the firm. Alex Ng left the Swiss bank having joined it 11 years ago from rival UBS. At UBS he had been a China country team head from 2005.
Carey Olsen appointed corporate and funds lawyer Andrew Tually to join its Singapore office. Tually began working in the firm's Guernsey office in 2007 before relocating to Carey Olsen in Singapore in 2017. Following a year with one of the leading commercial law firms in Australia, he returns as counsel in Carey Olsen's Singapore corporate and funds practice to provide specialist legal advice on the Cayman Islands and Guernsey to the firm's growing Asia client base. Tully has 12 years of industry experience. Separately, Carey Olsenadded Bermudians Henry Tucker and Kyle Masters to its Hong Kong office in a bid to boost its expertise on Bermudan law. The duo were previously members of the dispute resolution and litigation practice at Carey Olsen Bermuda. 

Helen Wong Pik-kuen, HSBC’s Greater China chief executive, resigned. She reportedly decided to leave the bank to "pursue an external opportunity". She had been at the bank since 1992.
Sanctum Wealth Management, the Mumbai-based firm, appointed Yogesh Sodhani to join its management team as market head for its southern region, based in Bengaluru. Sodhani reports to Sanctum Wealth’s CEO, Shiv Gupta. With more than 20 years of experience in the business, Sodhani has worked across the financial services sector in wealth management, treasury management, and corporate finance. Over this time, he has held leadership positions in sales and advisory in firms including, Axis Bank, Morgan Stanley, and HDFC Bank. In his last assignment, he was the head of the advisory business in the South for Edelweiss Private Wealth Management.

Alternative asset management firm TPG appointed David Tan as managing director. Tan is based in Singapore covering Southeast Asia and works with Ganen Sarvananthan, co-managing partner and Dominic Picone, partner of TPG Capital Asia – the firm’s Asia-focused private equity platform.

Tan joined from KKR, the investment group, where he served as a director on the firm’s private equity team and worked for over a decade in their Menlo Park, Hong Kong and Singapore offices.
Cult Wines, a wine investment management firm, appointed Julie Delaporte as Southeast Asia business development manager. She is based in Singapore. A Swiss national, Delaporte has experience in managing large private client portfolios and client relationships, having previously worked at De Pury Pictet Turrettini & Cie in Geneva and the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise in Lausanne. She completed her studies at the prestigious Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne and holds both the CIWM (Certification of International Wealth Management) and WSET (Wines and Spirits Educational Trust) Level 3 qualifications.

BNP Paribas Asset Management, part of BNP Paribas, appointed former Fidelity senior figure Rick Chen as its Taiwan chief executive. Chen took over from Christine Jih, who decided to retire from the asset management industry. Chen has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and was most recently Taiwan head of Fidelity. Prior to that, he held various senior positions at the consumer banking arm of Citi, Standard Chartered Bank and GE Money.

Chen reports to Singapore-based Christian Bucaro, co-head of Distribution Asia-Pacific, for matters relating to the commercial development of Taiwan and functionally to Ligia Torres, BNPP AM’s CEO for Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong.

RBC Wealth Management created two new roles for its Asia business: Dom Lane, team head, private banking and Vicky Lin, deputy head, private banking for China.

Lane joined RBC Wealth Management’s Singapore office, where he concentrates on driving business growth for Asia’s "global families", building a team which will focus on families with links between Asia and Canada, US and the UK. Lane has more than 15 years of experience in the financial industry across Asia and Europe, most recently as executive director (expatriate desk) at UBS. Prior to that he was market head for HSBC Private Bank’s international markets offering in Singapore. Lane reports to Mike Reed, head of wealth management for Southeast Asia and chief executive of the RBC Singapore Branch.

Ms Lin joined RBC Wealth Management’s Hong Kong office to help serve the increasing needs of clients across Greater China. She is responsible for growing the company’s client book by providing wealth management for Asia’s global families in that region. She brings over 30 years of relationship management and financial industry experience across private banking, consumer banking, asset management and institutional businesses in Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Ms Lin has had senior roles at EFG Private Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Morgan Stanley, where she spent over a decade. She reports to Ignatius (Iggy) Chong, managing director, head of private banking, Greater China.