Asia people moves: new practice head at Herbert Smith Freehills; Deutsche hires ESG manager; and more

Latest job changes across the industry

Herbert Smith Freehills has appointed May Tai as head of its Asia practice. Tai, who specialises in international arbitration, joined the law firm in 2001 and became a partner in 2009. Tai is based in Hong Kong but has also practised in the firm’s London, Singapore and Tokyo offices. She has also spent time in Beijing and Shanghai. Herbert Smith Freehills has also appointed Weina Ye as an international partner for its partner on the Chinese mainland, Kewei Law Firm. Ye has extensive experience in advising Chinese and multinational clients on the resolution and avoidance of complex and high-value cross-border commercial disputes. She also regularly represents clients in international arbitration cases. Ye joined Herbert Smith Freehills in 2009 as a trainee.

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Deutsche Bank has appointed Kamran Khan to the newly created role of head of environmental, social and governance for Asia Pacific, responsible for developing the business strategy for ESG across the region. Khan will be based in Singapore, reporting regionally to Asia-Pacific CEO Werner Steinmueller and locally to David Lynne, Singapore chief country officer, head of corporate banking for APAC and head of fixed income and currencies APAC. Khan joins the bank from sustainable investment firm Infra-Tech. Previously, Khan has worked at the World Bank, JP Morgan and as part of the Barrack Obama administration in the US.

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HSBC has appointed Lavanya Chari as global head of products, investments and collaboration for private banking, based in Hong Kong. Chari joins from Deutsche Bank in Singapore, where she spent nearly 20 years in a variety of senior positions, most recently as global head of products and solutions for private banking. Chari will report to Annabel Spring, head of customers and products, wealth and personal banking, as well as to the CEO of HSBC Private Banking.

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The Bank for International Settlements has announced the appointment of Bénédicte Nolens (pictured) as head of its innovation hub in Hong Kong. Nolens, who will serve a three-year term, has more than 20 years’ experience in financial services, with a focus on fintech, innovation and regulation. Nolens was head of Fintech at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission until 2018. Most recently, she worked for SC Ventures, the innovation, ventures and fintech investments arm of Standard Chartered Bank

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Western Asset, a fixed-income division of asset management company Legg Mason, has appointed John InGeun Kim as head of client service executive for Korean institutions and other key markets in the region. Kim will be based in Singapore and reports to Michael Dale, head of client service and marketing for Apac. Kim was previously head of institutional business at BlackRock Korea and a senior manager of the external fund management team in the reserve management group of Bank of Korea. Since 2005, he has been a fixed income professor at CFA Korea Institute.

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Global investment firm T. Rowe Price has appointed Darren Hall as its new head of distribution for Australia and New Zealand. Hall will succeed Murray Brewer, who will retire at the end of 2020. Hall is currently head of intermediary for Australia at the firm. He will report to Nick Trueman, Singapore-based head of distribution for Asia-Pacific. Hall has been with T. Rowe Price since 2007. Prior to that, he held business development and national account positions with Schroder Investments Australia and Credit Suisse Asset Management.

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Credit Suisse has appointed Janice Hu as chairman of its Chinese joint venture – Credit Suisse Founder Securities Limited – after it completed the increase of its shareholding of the joint venture from 33.3% to 51%. Hu has been with the Swiss bank for nearly two decades.

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Singapore-based fund management company Fullerton has appointed James Zhang as general manager for its China entity, based in Shanghai. Zhang, who will report directly to chief executive officer Jenny Sofian, replaces Mark Li, who has left the firm to pursue other interests. Zhang has nearly 25 years of industry experience. Most recently he was executive vice-president of sales for China International Fund Management, a joint venture of JP Morgan Asset Management. Previously he was deputy general manager of personal finance, sales and marketing for China Construction Bank.

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Bank of Singapore, the private banking arm of OCBC, has appointed Lim Leong Guan as its new global head of products. He will be a member of the bank’s management committee, reporting to CEO Bahren Shaari. Guan has spent 30 years in the investments and advisory space, across transactional, advisory and discretionary products, as well as wealth planning. Prior to joining Bank of Singapore, Guan had senior management responsibilities across various roles at UBS Wealth Management, where he was most recently head of wealth planning for Apac.