A busy month for moves and appointments in the region's wealth sector.

Deutsche Bank Wealth Management named Felicia Tan as director, team leader and Edmund Tee as vice president and Dita Darmawan as director. 

Based in Singapore, Tan and Tee report to Urs Brudermann; and Darmawan reports to Ingrid Widjaya. Both Brudermann and Widjaya are group heads of Southeast Asia and report to Shang-Wei Chow, Southeast Asia head.

With 13 years of private banking experience, Tan joined from BNP Paribas Wealth Management where she was director, team head. Prior to that, she spent more than a decade at Credit Suisse, progressing from relationship manager to director. 

Darmawan joined from UBS where she was a director. Prior to UBS, she held the same title at Standard Chartered and was a vice president at Barclays Bank. 

Tee, who has 17 years of experience in the banking and finance industry, was previously at BNP Paribas Wealth Management where he was a vice president, serving HNW individuals and corporations. Prior to joining BNP Paribas Wealth Management, Tee worked at CIMB Private Banking and Credit Suisse.

Indosuez Wealth Management in Asia, the global wealth management brand of France’s Crédit Agricole group, appointed senior relationship manager, Arthur Cheng as executive director in the Singapore Branch. Cheng reports to Alfred Low, head of North Asia markets and strategic partnerships at the bank’s Singapore branch.

With almost 25 years’ experience in the banking sector, Cheng spent the last 16 years working in senior level roles in private banking. Prior to his appointment with Indosuez, he served in senior wealth management roles at DBS Bank Private Bank and BNP Paribas Private Bank in Hong Kong SAR as well as UBS Taiwan.

Standard Chartered appointed Brendan Royal to the technology role of global chief architect, joining from Amazon Web Services in Australia after a four-year stint.

Singapore-based GIC, the sovereign wealth fund, appointed former Credit Suisse senior figure Lawrence Beck as a director in its technology group. Beck worked for the Swiss bank in Hong Kong for 11 years. In his latest role there, he was a managing director and head of investment banking technology for Asia-Pacific. Before that, he worked at Morgan Stanley.

Credit Suisse announced a series of changes to its top-level management for its Asia-Pacific business, including the retirement of Francois Monnet, who had been head of private banking for North Asia and chief executive for the firm’s Hong Kong branch.

Benjamin Cavalli was appointed head of wealth management Asia-Pacific; Jinyee Young was named deputy head of wealth management Asia-Pacific, and Chien Chien Wong was appointed CEO for Credit Suisse in Singapore – the bank’s first female CEO in Singaporr, in addition to her role as the chief operating officer, Asia-Pacific. 

Greg Hingston was appointed to lead HSBC's Life and Insurance business. The banking veteran, who is heading the franchise as global CEO, succeeded Bryce Johns, who left to pursue an outside opportunity. Hingston spent 15 years at HSBC in a number of executive roles in Asia and Europe. He was regional lead in retail banking for EMEA; and also led customer value management and international retail banking and wealth management for Europe. Earlier in his career, Hingston spent five years heading business development, planning and M&A at Prudential in Asia.

Maitri Asset Management, a Singapore-based, active responsible investment manager and multi-family office, added two executives to its client relationship and investment advisory teams. Varun Gulati, a private banking industry veteran, joined as a relationship management director to help drive Maitri’s client relationship strategy and partnerships. 

Edwin Aw joined as an investment counsellor focusing on formulating and managing bespoke multi-asset investment solutions for clients. Both appointees are based in Singapore. 

Gulati previously worked in the private banking division of Deutsche Bank. Before that, he worked in wealth management across leading international banks and financial institutions, including ABN Amro, HSBC and Standard Chartered. Aw, who joined from HSBC, is a private banking investment specialist. His career to date spans stints at numerous leading financial institutions including Schroders, ING and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Credit Suisse appointed Sacha Eugster as market leader for the Philippines based in Singapore. He still reports to market group head Marcus Slöör, Private Banking Philippines. Eugster, who has spent two decades in wealth management, joined Credit Suisse in 2003. After 11 years, he became head of the Swiss bank’s Singapore booking centre, moving in 2016 to become team leader for the Philippines market, managing the Singapore-based team.

Global asset manager Ninety One appointed Nazmeera Moola as chief sustainability officer. Moola, who was previously Ninety One’s deputy managing director and head of South African Investments, joined the group in 2013 from Macquarie First South, where she was head of macroeconomic strategy. 

A former Deutsche Bank senior figure, Anurag Mahesh, rejoined the bank at its wealth management arm to take the post of vice chairman, Asia-Pacific. Mahesh, who is based in Singapore, reports to Lok Yim, head of the international private bank for APAC and chief executive of the Hong Kong branch. In global reporting terms, he reports to Alessandro Caironi, global head of lending and advisory and sales. He joined from UBS, where he was co-head of global family office for Asia Pacific. 

Allfunds, the funds platform organisation, appointed Sebastien Chaker as head of its Hong Kong business. Chaker most recently served as an executive board member for Clearstream Fund Centre AG (Zurich). He has also served in senior roles at UBS and Calastone. Chaker reports to David Perez de Albéniz, head of Asia at Allfunds, who is based in Singapore.

Leo Wealth, the international wealth firm borne out of a recent merger, named Jason Gibbons as investment director for Asia. Based in Hong Kong, Gibbons joined the firm’s global investment team and reports to Harmen Overdijk, global chief investment officer. Gibbons previously worked at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, where he spent 11 years as client portfolio manager, working with private clients and high net worth families. 

Arc & Co, the specialist debt advisory firm, named Sophie Brown, a chartered accountant, as representative for Southeast Asia. Based in Singapore, she provides debt advisory services with a focus on real estate.

Eastspring Investments created a new regional management structure, naming Xavier Meyer and Wendy Lim in the newly-created roles of regional CEOs. They report to Wai-Kwong Seck, CEO at Eastspring Investments.

Meyer, who joined Eastspring in 2014 and is global head of distribution, took on new management responsibilities.He oversees the Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Europe and US businesses as regional CEO for North Asia, Europe and the US. Lim assumed management responsibilities to oversee Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam as regional CEO for Southeast Asia. 

Law firm Stephenson Harwood appointed Wei Kang as a partner in its Hong Kong office. Kang, who joined the firm from DLA Piper, advises clients on international estate and asset protection planning, the Canadian tax and corporate aspects of private wealth structures, and the development of family governance structures. She has experience in a variety of cross-border deals, including the mergers and acquisitions of private corporations, corporate reorganisations and trust planning transactions. Kang has .

Canada-listed Sun Life Financial appointed Luc Nhon Ly as chief executive of Sun Life Vietnam, following the return of former Vietnam CEO Larry Madge to Sun Life's corporate office in Toronto. Luc Nhon Ly brings more than 26 years of expertise to the role, in a career spanning executive, finance, strategy, and actuarial roles across Vietnam, Myanmar and Canada. 

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, aka KKR, appointed K V Kamath as a senior advisor to KKR India. Kamath has more than five decades of experience of building and leading large Indian businesses. Most recently, from its founding in 2015 until 2020, Kamath has served as the first president of the multilateral development bank, New Development Bank. Prior to that, he was chairman of ICICI Bank and Infosys, two of India’s largest companies.

Barclays Private Bank made three senior appointments in its Singapore office: Adrian Khoo was named head of strategic client coverage, Barclays Private Bank, Singapore. Khoo, who has more than 16 years’ experience in the financial services industry, joined from Julius Baer, where he was a senior relationship manager for Southeast Asia covering ultra-high net worth and family office clients. Prior to this, he served in senior roles at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, Asia Capital & Advisors, Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Bank.

Jaime Huang was appointed private banker, Barclays Private Bank, Singapore. Prior to joining Barclays, Huang worked at the Bank of Singapore and spent the last four years as a director responsible for advising UHNW and family office clients in Southeast Asia and China. He has more than 18 years of private banking and investment advisory experience and has previously worked at Citigroup, HSBC and ABN AMRO.

Ken Sze was appointed head of investments for Asia, Barclays Private Bank, Singapore. Sze relocated from London, where, for the past three years, he was a senior member of Barclays Private Bank Global Investments team as global head of the funds and ETFs business. 

Allianz appointed Anusha Thavarajah as regional chief executive of Allianz Asia Pacific, succeeding Solmaz Altin, who decided to leave after 13 years with the organisation. Thavarajah, who is Allianz Asia Pacific’s regional CEO of Life and Health, joined the business in December 2019 from AIA Malaysia. 

Manulife Investment Management appointed Isaac Meng as managing director and portfolio manager, fixed income, and Judy Kwok, head of Greater China fixed income research, to join its Asia fixed income team. Meng reports to Paula Chan, senior managing director and senior portfolio manager, Asia fixed income. Meng was previously at PIMCO Asia as senior vice president, portfolio manager and macro strategist. 

Kwok is responsible for leading the firm’s Greater China fixed income research efforts, Kwok reports to Fiona Cheung, head of global emerging markets fixed income research. She was previously at Bank of Singapore as director of fixed income research, and before that she served in senior research positions at Fidelity International and First State Investments in Hong Kong. 

HSBC Asset Management named Daisy Ho as its new regional chief executive for Asia-Pacific and Hong Kong. Ho replaced Pedro Bastos who moved to a newly-created role as chief investment officer for international markets and Asia strategist. Ho, who reports to CEO Nicolas Moreau, has more than 20 years’ experience in the asset management industry, and joined from Fidelity International.

BBVA, the Spain-based banking and financial group, announced that it is setting up an equity trading and sales hub in Hong Kong. The group appointed Stephen Sun as head of sales, global equities Asia. He joined BBVA from DBS Private Bank, where he was an investment consultant. Prior to that, Sun worked in sales at Barclays, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.

Carey Olsen added to its dispute resolution and litigation offering in Hong Kong by appointing senior associate Kimberley Leng. 

Julius Baer appointed Kevin Tay as head of wealth planning and family office services, Singapore. The move represented a return to the Swiss bank for Tay, who had worked there for more than a decade. He reports to Eleanor Yuen, head of wealth planning and investment finance for Asia-Pacific, and Jason Moo, head of private banking, Southeast Asia and branch manager, Singapore, for family office services.

Prior to this, Tay was senior partner, Asia head at Sequent Group. Before that, he was with Julius Baer for almost 14 years, most recently as head of wealth planning and investment finance for Southeast Asia. 

Citi Private Bank appointed Chia Pei Jet as managing director and investment counsellor team lead for the Singapore and Malaysia ultra-high net worth business. Based in Singapore, Chia Pei Jet, who is a CFA Charterholder, is partnering with Citi Private Bank chairman and South Asia head Lee Lung-Nien to help expand the bank’s UHNW footprint in Singapore and Malaysia. Chia Pei Jet joined from JP Morgan Private Bank, where she served as global investment specialist and team lead for the Indonesia market for more than 20 years. 

PGIM Real Estate appointed Matthew Yao, formerly of CBRE Global Investors, as head of China. In this new role, Yao is overseeing the Shanghai-based investment team which supports the deployment of PGIM Real Estate’s pan-Asian investment funds in China.

M&G Investments announced the appointment of Alfred Foo as director, intermediary channels, Singapore. He is based in M&G’s Singapore office and reports to Berny Lin, head of distribution, Asia ex-Japan. Foo was most recently at abrdn – formerly Standard Life Aberdeen - where he had been responsible for Singapore’s wholesale segment covering private banks, retail banks, insurance, and IFAs since 2018. 

Citigroup named Victor Alexiev as the global head of a business incubation programme of the bank which examines new business opportunities. Alexiev reports to Valla Vakili, global head of venture innovation for Citi Ventures.