Asia moves: Nomura hires in Hong Kong, HKEx shuffles board, BNPP adds in India, and more

Nomura has appointed Guy Smith as Hong Kong-based head of debt capital markets and acquisition leveraged finance for Asia ex-Japan. Smith reports to John Goff, head of global finance for Asia ex-Japan, according to an internal memo. He joins from taxi app service Grab, where he was head of strategic and corporate finance. He previously worked at Barclays for 20 years.

Nomura has also named Anoop Chaudhry as head of infrastructure and utilities for Asia ex-Japan. He will be based in Hong Kong, reporting to Kenji Teshima, head of investment banking for Asia ex-Japan, according to another internal memo.

Chaudhry previously worked at Barclays, most recently as head of utilities and infrastructure for Asia-Pacific. Past employers include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has announced several changes to its board of directors. Its board member and chairman CK Chow will be retiring at the end of April, while Tim Freshwater, a fellow board member and chairman of the HKEx advisory committee, will also be stepping down. Replacing them are Laura Cha and Ben Hung, two veterans of the finance industry. Among other posts, Cha is currently chairman of the Financial Services Development Council and the non-executive deputy chairman of HSBC. Hung is the regional chief executive for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered Bank. 

Suneet Weling has joined BNP Paribas India as managing director for investment banking and head of advisory, capital raising and financing. In his new role, which began on February 1, he is responsible for the origination of advisory and capital market transactions for BNP Paribas’ corporate and institutional clients in India.

Weling joins from Kotak Mahindra Capital where he was most recently executive director for investment banking. Prior to this he held roles with Deutsche Bank in Singapore and Merrill Lynch and UBS in New York. 

Franklin Templeton Investments has hired Manraj Sekhon as chief investment officer of emerging markets equity. He started the role in February and is based in Singapore. He reports to Stephen Dover, head of equities at the investment manager.

Prior to joining the firm, Sekhon served as chief executive, CIO and director of Fullerton Fund Management, a Singapore-based asset manager. Before that he was a director and head of international equities at Henderson Global Investors. 

BlackRock has announced the appointment of Kimberley Kim to the newly created position of head of financial for the Asia-Pacific region. Kim, who starts in April, moves over from Deutsche Asset Management where she was most recently head of the global client group for Hong Kong and regional head of insurance coverage for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan. During her nearly 15 years at Deutsche Bank, Kim worked in a range of roles across the asset management and global market divisions. Kim will report to Andrew Landman, BlackRock’s Asia-Pacific head of client business, and David Lomas, head of the global financial institutions group.

Generali Asia has appointed Cillin O’Flynn as CEO of its business operations in Hong Kong. Flynn, who reports directly to Roberto Leonardi, regional officer for Asia, has worked at the firm since 2010 – initially as chief operating officer for the pan-European business and more recently as CEO for the Middle East. 

State Street’s asset management arm, State Street Global Advisors, has appointed Um Tae-jong as head of its operations in Korea. Um joins from MSCI, where he was country head for Korea. Um has also served as chief investment officer for global investment at Samsung Asset Management. He held previous positions as head of international investment for insurer Samsung Fire & Marine and head of investment at Continuum Investment Management in New York.

Vontobel Investment Banking has appointed Long Lee as head of financial products for Asia. Lee, who previously served as CEO of Leonteq Securities Hong Kong, will continue to be based in the territory and oversee the firm’s structured products business across the Asia-Pacific region. Lee has worked as a trader at Bank of China and BBVA, among other institutions.

Shahrul Azlan Shahriman joined Great Eastern Takaful as chief executive officer in January. In the position, based in Kuala Lumpur, Azlan oversees the group’s business direction and Islamic insurance performance. Azlan, who has local and international experience in Islamic finance and multi-channel distribution, was most recently the chief distribution officer for Prudential BSN Takaful. 

Global investment management firm T. Rowe Price has appointed Wenting Shen as a solutions strategist, reporting to Thomas Poullaouec, head of multi-asset solutions for Asia-Pacific. She joins from BlackRock Asset Management where she was vice-president of multi-asset solutions. She has more than 10 years of experience in the region’s investment industry.

BNP Paribas Asset Management has appointed Guillaume Wehry as Asia-Pacific chief marketing officer. He joins from Amundi where he was regional head of marketing and communication for Asia ex-Japan. He will be involved in wholesale distribution, institutional sales as well as brand and communications to enhance BNPP’s integrated businesses in Asia. In this newly created role based in Hong Kong, Wehry reports to Ligia Torres, Asia-Pacific CEO of BNPP Asset Management.