The latest moves and appointments for senior roles for Asia-Pacific wealth management.

BlackRock
BlackRock has named Stephen Allan as head of Australasia Private Credit.

Based in Sydney, Allan (pictured) will be responsible for leading the origination and sourcing of private credit investments in Australia and New Zealand. He will also play an active role in the investment process – from deal structuring and execution through to monitoring performance.

Drawing on nearly 20 years’ experience in credit deal origination and sourcing, Allan joins from Nomura, where he was responsible for the origination, structuring, and syndication of illiquid credit opportunities in Australia and New Zealand. Before joining Nomura in 2010, Allan worked at Lloyds International in Sydney, where he was involved in transaction restructuring of distressed corporate, real estate and leveraged finance accounts in the firm’s business support unit.

“Clients will benefit from Stephen’s solid track record in generating opportunities throughout private credit markets in Australia and New Zealand, and we look forward to working closely with him,” Andrew Landman, head of Australasia, BlackRock, said.

BlackRock’s Global Private Debt platform manages $84 billion across the asset class. The Global Private Debt team comprises more than 200 investment professionals in over 18 cities globally as of August 2023, and holds more than 22 years’ cycle-tested investment experience.

EFG Bank AG
EFG Bank AG has just hired a number of highly experienced client relationship officers (CROs) for its team in Hong Kong to expand the bank’s capabilities in Asia-Pacific, the firm said in a statement.

The following seasoned CROs are the latest additions to the Greater China market team led by Philip Cheung, Greater China market group head:

-- Steven Li, who has almost 15 years of industry experience with a focus on Greater China, specialises in delivering the full spectrum of wealth management services to entrepreneurs and ultra-high net worth clients. He was formerly at CICC, where he spent more than 10 years, most recently serving as an executive director.

-- Melissa Lau, who has over 20 years of wealth management experience, was previously a director at Credit Suisse. Lau spent almost a decade at the bank, focusing on wealth preservation and succession planning for ultra-high net worth individuals.

-- Sarah Tan has close to 25 years of private banking experience and a successful track record in serving high net worth clients in Greater China. She has joined from Credit Suisse, where she was most recently a director.

-- Karson Chu, who has over 15 years of wealth management experience, specialises in financial solutions, financial planning and client portfolio management. Most recently, Chu worked for Credit Suisse, where he was a director focusing on the Greater China market.

-- Elsie Wang has extensive experience in serving ultra-high net worth clients in the Greater China market. She previously worked for financial institutions in Asia including Credit Suisse, Bank of Singapore and Julius Baer.

In addition, EFG has made the following new hires for its team in Hong Kong to increase the strength of its Greater China capabilities:

-- Loretta Chim, who has 17 years of private banking experience, has joined from Credit Suisse, where she was most recently executive director focusing on managing onshore and offshore international ultra-high net worth client portfolios. She will report to Christina Wong, senior client partner.

-- Flora So has almost 30 years of private banking experience and a successful track record in serving ultra-high net worth individuals. Previously, So was with BNP Paribas, where she was most recently an executive director of wealth management. She will report to KY Ho, Hong Kong market group head.

-- Daphne Chen, who has over 15 years of experience in private banking, focuses on delivering wealth management solutions to entrepreneurs and ultra-high net worth clients in the Hong Kong market. Chen has joined from Bank of Singapore, where she was a director. She will report to David Louie, CEO, Hong Kong branch and interim market group head for Greater China (Ultra Clients).

"The strategic expansion of our Hong Kong team with the hiring of seasoned specialists focused on the Greater China market demonstrates our commitment to further enhancing our offering in order to meet the evolving needs of existing and prospective clients," Albert Chiu, executive chairman, Asia-Pacific, EFG Bank, said.