Lai, who is based in Hong Kong, will lead marketing across the region for RBC’s asset management business, reporting to Jayne Fieldhouse, managing director and head of global institutional marketing.

She is joining from PineBridge Investments, now part of MetLife Investment Management, where she ran marketing programmes across Asia-Pacific markets, covering brand campaigns, content, digital, public relations, events and product marketing. Before that Lai spent nearly six years at AXA Investment Managers, since acquired by BNP Paribas Asset Management, leading regional marketing and communications.

RBC BlueBay, which represents RBC Global Asset Management outside North America, manages active strategies across equities, fixed income and alternatives. Its parent, Royal Bank of Canada, Canada’s largest bank by market capitalisation, serves more than 19 million clients in Canada, the US and 27 other countries.

The appointment comes as the firm is expanding its APAC business. Lai’s two previous employers have both been absorbed into larger groups, reflecting the consolidation reshaping the asset management industry in the region.