A summary of moves in Asian wealth management during May.

Singapore-based asset manager Avanda Investment Management, or "Avanda" for short, named Faith Toh as head of business development and marketing.

Standard Chartered appointed Shada El Borno as regional head of global subsidiaries for the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP) markets, and head of global subsidiaries for UAE. El Borno is responsible for managing the bank’s GS business for MENAP.  She has been with Standard Chartered for 22 years. She has held a number of senior roles at the bank, most recently as the regional head of business management, global banking MENAP. El Borno reports into Mohamed Salama, country head global banking UAE for the local GS business; Sarmad Lone, regional head of GB, MENAP, for the overall MENAP GS business; and to Rob Snell, global head of global subsidiaries. 

State Street Global Advisors appointed Michele Barlow to the APAC head of investment strategy and research of its Investment Solutions Group (ISG). Barlow replaced Thomas Poullaouec who left State Street Global Advisors. Based in Hong Kong, she reports to Ric Thomas, global head of strategy and research for State Street Global Advisors’ ISG. Most recently, she led the credit research team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

ANZ appointed Shane Buggle as group general manager internal audit. He succeeded Kevin Corbally who was recently appointed chief risk officer. He reports to the chairman of the audit committee, Paula Dwyer. Buggle has spent more than 20 years in senior finance roles at ANZ and has been deputy chief financial officer since 2012.

Australian banking group AMP appointed David Cullen as its new group general counsel. Cullen replaced in-house lawyer Brian Salter, who resigned with other members of AMP’s management after an independent inquiry into Australia’s financial sector revealed the firm lied to the financial regulator for a decade. Cullen has been with AMP since 2004, most recently as group company secretary and general counsel, governance, and has been acting group general counsel since 30 April. 

Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group appointed Robby Winarta as managing director and Long Hoang as director to its Asian private equity platform. Winarta, based in Jakarta, leads the firm’s investment activities in Indonesia.  Long Hoang, based in Singapore, concentrates on investment activities in Vietnam. Prior to joining Carlyle, Winarta worked at Credit Suisse for 20 years, most recently as head of Indonesia investment banking coverage. Before joining Carlyle, Hoang was a vice president at TPG Capital Asia Growth covering Singapore and Vietnam.

The former chairman of Nikko Asset Management, moved to a similar role at the asset management arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings. It named David Semaya as co-chairman, alongside current president Hideki Hiraki, who was also named to the same role. Semaya joined Nikko AM in early April, 2014. Prior to this, Semaya worked at Barclays Plc, where he served in various executive leadership positions since joining the bank in 2004. He was head of the wealth management business in the UK and Ireland, Chairman of Barclays Asset Management Ltd., and CEO of Europe and Asia for Barclays Global Investors (BGI). From 2004 to 2007, Semaya was President of BGI Japan Trust & Banking Co., Ltd. Prior to that, he was with Merrill Lynch for 12 years in a variety of roles in asset management and capital markets in both New York and Tokyo.

Strabens Hall, the wealth advisory business, appointed Adam Benskin as chief executive, John Halley as head of legal, financial and compliance and Alistair Peel as head of investor services as it shakes up senior management and expands in regions such as Asia. Then roles were newly created.

Benskin oversees Strabens Hall’s Hong Kong office. He is a founding director of the firm, a certified financial planner and Fellow of the Personal Finance Society. John Halley is a founding director of Strabens Hall. Peel has responsibility for the firm’s portfolio management, investment monitoring and consulting services.

Netherlands-headquartered professional services firm Wolters Kluwer appointed former SS&C Technologies senior figure Rainer Fuchsluger as managing director of its finance, risk and reporting business in Asia-Pacific, based in Singapore. He replaced James Stewart who left after five years with the firm, returning to his native Australia for family reasons. With 15 years of experience in financial services, Fuchsluger was previously regional managing director of SS&C’s institutional and investment management business in Asia. Prior to this he was head of real time services, Asia Pacific, for ICE Data Services, and, for ten years, worked at Thomson Reuters, as head of sales for Asia.

Global investment firm KKR appointed John Pattar as member and head of its real estate business in Asia-Pacific. He is based in Hong Kong. Pattar heads up KKR’s existing Asia real estate team and works alongside the firm’s regional investment teams to source real estate investment opportunities across APAC. He came from CLSA Capital Partners in Hong Kong, where he was the chief executive of CLSA Real Estate. He joined CLSA in 2004.

The chief financial officer of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Rob Jesudason, resigned with immediate effect, as a government-backed probe into the nation’s banking sector continued. The bank named Alan Docherty, previously chief financial officer for institutional banking and markets, as Jesudason’s replacement, as he had “decided to pursue an external role in Hong Kong”.

Law firm Stephenson Harwood appointed Kevin Lee as a partner in its global private wealth practice in Hong Kong. Lee has expertise in a wide range of issues including private wealth advisory, trusts, tax, philanthropy, corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, general business law, private equity and cross border transactions. He represents high net worth clients and advises major corporations from around the world. He joined from Zhong Lun Law Firm, where he was co-head of the global private client practice.

MSCI, the index provider and analytics firm, appointed senior investment industry figure Jack Lin as a managing director and head of Asia-Pacific client coverage, based out of Hong Kong. Lin reports to Laurent Seyer, chief operating officer and chief client officer at MSCI. Lin was previously at Amundi, the asset manager, where he served as the head of South Asia. Previously, he served as head of Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa for Pioneer Investments (which was acquired by Amundi in 2017). Lin has more than 20 years of experience at global asset management firms including Janus Capital Group and Franklin Templeton Investments.

Grace Barki, formerly the managing director covering Southeast Asia for Pictet in Singapore, resurfaced as Indonesia market leader at JP Morgan, reporting to Rahul Malhotra, who is head of Southeast Asia and the NRI operation at the US bank. Barki started her career with Citigroup in Jakarta; she later switched into private banking when she took on the role of country manager and acquisition team head for Indonesia at Citigroup Private Bank, and in 2004 moved to UBS Singapore as Wealth Management desk head and later the country team head of Indonesia. Barki has also held various senior roles with Sarasin and Royal Bank of Canada.

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Standard Chartered brought in two senior figures for its wealth transformation team, working in Hong Kong and Singapore. Claudia Loh joined as an executive director in Singapore and Samuel Chang has joined as a director in Hong Kong. Loh started her role in April this year. Before that, she was deputy general manager, head of operations at the Singapore branch of Nordea, in its private bank. She was there from September 2011 to March this year. Chang also took up his current role in April. Prior to this, he worked for a fintech startup, and prior to that, was senior manager, investment products, at HSBC’s retail wealth management business from June 2013 to August 2016.

Indosuez Wealth Management appointed Julien Collin as head of markets, investment and structuring in Singapore. In his new role, Collin reports to Pierre Masclet, Asia chief executive of Indosuez Wealth Management, and Arjan de Boer, head of markets, investment and structuring, based in Hong Kong. He replaced Simon Ip, who moved to Investment Advisory. Collin took charge of providing global asset allocation advice, investment solutions and recommendations aimed at ultra-high net worth clients, serviced by Singapore-based relationship managers. 

An employee of Crédit Agricole since 2007, Collin has held a variety of roles. In 2014, he joined Indosuez Wealth Management as head of markets and investment solutions in Paris. He moved East to Singapore in 2017, holding the post of acquisition programme director to steer the integration of CIC private banking operations in Asia.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group made two top-level hires. The changes at ANZ followed the decision of ANZ’s deputy chief executive Graham Hodges to retire after 27 years with the lender.
Alexis George was promoted to deputy CEO in addition to her role as group executive for Wealth Australia. George continues to lead the divestment of ANZ’s life insurance, superannuation and aligned dealer group businesses. She will also took charge of ANZ’s group service centres and help CEO Shayne Elliott with group-wide initiatives. George joined the bank in 2013 as managing director in the insurance arm, and has been group executive, Wealth Australia, since 2016. Before this, she was CEO Czech Republic and Slovakia at ING; before that she was regional chief operating officer in Asia, accountable for product, marketing, IT and operations.

The second senior appointment, Mark Hand, was named group executive, Australian Business & Private Banking. He continued to report to group executive for Australia, Fred Ohlsson. Hand joined ANZ in 1988 and has held senior roles across business and retail banking, credit management and internal audit in Australia and South Asia. Since 2015 he has been MD for Business & Private Banking.

Swiss-Asia life insurance brokerage firm Charles Monat Group appointed senior industry executive Martin Wong senior to its operational committee. Wong joined as Singapore chief executive as well as a partner and shareholder for the group. Wong is responsible for managing and expanding the Charles Monat business in Southeast Asia covering the international business and new domestic markets. He reports to Yves Guélat, group CEO.

Prior to this role, Wong worked at Jardine Lloyd Thompson Private Client Services where he served since 2010 as general manager, deputy chief executive, and then as chief executive for Singapore. He led expansion of high net worth business at the firm, opening new domestic offices in Southeast Asia. Wong also served as vice president at Merrill Lynch, based in New York, US. He is also a regular speaker at private banking and insurance forums.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management appointed Grace Tam as its chief investment advisor for Hong Kong, reporting to Prashant Bhayani, the chief investment officer, Asia. Prior to this role, Tam worked at HSBC Global Asset Management where she was a senior market specialist. Before that, she was a portfolio solutions specialist at Credit Suisse Private Bank, and a global strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management. Tam graduated with a Masters of Philosophy in Economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

UBS appointed a former senior Bank of Singapore manager, Connie Ong, as market head for Malaysia. Ong, who was co-market head, Malaysia, at Bank of Singapore, resigned from that firm at the end of March. In her new role, Ong joined the Swiss banking group on 2 July. She reports to August Hatecke, head of UBS Wealth Management for Southeast Asia. Before her role at Bank of Singapore, Ong worked for nine years at Standard Chartered, starting as head of financial institutions at the wholesale bank in Malaysia before moving to Singapore in 2009 to be head of investment advisory, SEA, in the private bank. The following year, she became a desk head covering Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei clients.

Independent wealth management house Thirdrock Group appointed Jamus Lim as economist, filling what the business said was a gap in its skillset. Jamus is based in Singapore and reports to founder and chief executive, Jason Lai. Previously, he worked at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority where he was lead economist. Before that, he was a senior economist with the World Bank where he led a number of research initiatives on long-term economic forecast, trade and finance in the Middle East and East Asia and governance and human development in Africa. Jamus, who is also an associate professor of economics at ESSEC Business School in Singapore, graduated with first-class honours from the University of Southern Queensland and went on to graduate work at the London School of Economics, the University of California and Harvard University.

Eastspring Investments, the Asian asset management arm of UK-based insurer Prudential, appointed Ooi Boon Peng as chief executive of its Singapore office. Ooi was also named regional fixed income officer. Prior to his appointment, Ooi was chief investment officer of fixed income at Eastspring Singapore, a position he had held since he joined the company in July 2007.

Phil Stockwell, who was previously CEO of Eastspring Singapore, now concentrates solely on his role as chief operating officer of Eastspring Singapore. Guan Yi Low was promoted to CIO of fixed income in Singapore to replace Ooi in the role. Yi Low was formerly a portfolio manager in the fixed income team. Michele Bang stepped down from her previous role as head of distribution, and continued in the role of deputy CEO. Bang joined Eastspring in November 2013. Prior to that, she was CEO of Deutsche Asset Management's Asia ex-Japan operations.

JP Morgan Asset Management appointed Philippe El-Asmar as head of Asia beta strategies. El-Asmar is based in Hong Kong and responsible for leading the firm’s Asian beta strategies expansion. In the short term, El-Asmar focuses on bringing the firm’s existing global beta strategies funds and institutional strategies to Asia clients. In the long term, El-Asmar oversees development of the firm’s regional exchange-traded fund product strategy and design. He reports to Michael Camacho, global head of beta strategies.

UBS appointed Bryce Wan, formerly from Goldman Sachs, taking up the role of country team head for ultra-high net worth clients in China. Wan is based in Hong Kong. Prior to this, Wan joined Goldman Sachs in 1999 and took various senior positions at that firm. In 2011, he assumed the role of Asia head of Goldmans’ portfolio management group, serving UHNW clients and families. In his most recent role, she led a team of private bankers at Goldman Sachs, managing relationship with UHNW clients in the Greater China region. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Wan also worked at Jardine Matheson and Bain & Company in Hong Kong.  

Other recruits were Jenny Su and Zhang Xin, desk heads previously. They were named as country team heads for UHNW China country team (based in Singapore) and UHNW China country team respectively. Xin is based out of Hong Kong. Su joined UBS Wealth Management in May 2005 and is desk head with UHNW Greater China since 2013. Prior to UBS, she started her career with Merrill Lynch in the US.  In her 14 years with Merrill Lynch, Su had worked with the bank in Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore in various roles.

Xin has 25 years of experience in the financial industries and joined UBS Securities Beijing in Jan 2007.  In April 2013, he took up the desk head role and moved to UBS Hong Kong with focus and success in building client relationship in UHNW segment.  

A veteran private banker in Asia, David Lim, came back to Credit Suisse having most recently been vice chairman for Southeast Asia at rival Swiss bank Julius Baer, based in Singapore. In his new role, Lim was appointed as vice chairman of private banking for Southeast Asia. Lim was based in Singapore, reporting to Benjamin Cavalli, head private banking Southeast Asia and chief executive in Singapore. Prior to this, Lim had worked at Julius Baer for 12 months. Before that, Lim worked at Credit Suisse as head of solution partners, leading the business that served ultra-high net worth clients across their private investments and capital solutions. In total, Lim has almost 30 years of global banking experience.