Movers and Shakers: FST Media’s monthly wrap of the personnel changes in financial services across Australia, New Zealand and wider Asia.
Australia and New Zealand
Appointments
July marks a number of high-profile appointments across financial services in Australia and New Zealand, with a noteworthy addition to Nikko Asset Management Australia as the firm looks to consolidate its reputation in private wealth as a provider of tailored investment solutions.
Naomi Finnigan has been unveiled as Head of Private Wealth for Nikko Asset Management Australia. Finnigan has over 15 years of industry experience and was most recently the Director for Distribution and Adviser Services at Mason Stevens. In her new role, Finnigan will be overseeing the firm’s relationships with non-aligned independent financial advisers, as well as high net worth, and self-managed super fund market segments.
Brett Barber has been appointed to the newly-created role of Chief Digital Officer for LGsuper as part of the fund’s ongoing strategic digital transformation. Barber will be responsible for leading LGsuper’s IT and marketing divisions.
Brendan Johnson has been unveiled as the new General Manager of Apogee for MLC, National Australia Bank’s wealth management partner. Johnson first joined MLC in 2002 and brings 17 years of experience across financial planning, practice management, and compliance fields.
Alexandra McGuigan has been appointed as Head of Client Relationships and Marketing for Tribeca Investment Partners. Previously, McGuigan worked as a Business Development Manager for Shed Enterprises, representing global fund managers in the Australian institutional market.
Jarrod Coysh has been appointed as Executive Manager for Employer Experience at cBus. Coysh joins Cbus with a breadth of expertise gained at ANZ, The Boston Consulting Group, NAB and most recently with Westpac as General Manager of Working Capital and Industry Specialisation.
Ken Henry has been appointed chair of National Australia Bank, replacing Michael Chaney who will step down from his post at the AGM in December. Dr Henry has been a member of the NAB board since November, 2011, following a decade as secretary of the federal Treasury.
Loyce Cox-Paton has been appointed to the newly restructured role of Senior Manager of Brand and Digital for NGS Super, reporting to executive manager customer, Dascia Bennett.
Francyn Stuckey has been appointed as Global Head of Capabilities and Client Solutions for ANZ’s transaction banking business, reporting to Managing Director Global Transaction Banking Carole Berndt. The new role brings together ANZ’s existing payments and cash management, clearing, digital and channels businesses, to optimise delivery and service for clients.
Gary Dransfield is set to replace departing Suncorp Life CEO Geoff Summerhayes later this year. Dransfield will in turn be replaced by Paul Smeaton, Vero New Zealand’s current Executive General Manager for Statutory Claims and Commercial Insurance, who will commence as interim CEO of the New Zealand insurer on September 14 this year.
Asia
Appointments
June marks a number of high-profile appointments across financial services in Asia, with noteworthy additions to UOB, Manulife and Société Générale.
Chung Shaw Bee has been appointed as the new Global Head of Wealth Management for UOB and will be based in Singapore. Previously, Chung was the head of wealth management for ASEAN countries at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
John Brisco has been appointed as Chief Information Officer and Chief Operations Officer for Manulife’s Asia Division. Based in Hong Kong, Brisco’s new role sees him lead the company’s information functions technology and digital execution strategies in 12 markets across Asia, as well as regional operations services including talent management and information risk management.
Hideaki Takahashi has been ushered in as Société Générale’s Head of Global Markets Sales in Japan, with Inhwan Oh announced as Head of Global Market Sales for SG Securities in Korea. William Huang, meanwhile, will lead global market sales for Greater China with support from Charles Gu, and Arnaud Lhoste will hold the same head sales post for Southeast Asia. Société Générale’s mandate for the newly appointed sales executives will be to ensure consistency of products and optimise client coverage with a fully integrated offer across products and asset classes.
Guilherme Lima has been appointed as the Asia Pacific Head of Wealth Business for HSBC, based in Hong Kong. Lima arrives from his previous HSBC role as Head of Retail and Wealth Management for Latin America.
Echo Hu has been announced as a vice president in Citi Private Bank’s China team. He will report to Rudolf Hitsch, who heads both the Hong Kong and Taiwan teams.
Alexander Harrison has been ushered in as Head of Corporate Banking for Barclays in Asia Pacific, a new role for the British bank who has set its sights firmly on expanding its operations in the region. Harrison will relocate from Dubai to Singapore and will focus on supporting Asia Pacific companies and financial institutions.
Matthew Driver has been appointed to the role of Group Executive, Global Products and Solutions for MasterCard in Asia Pacific. In this role, Matthew will lead the development of innovative products and services that benefit consumers, merchants, business partners and governments across Asia Pacific.
If you would like to feature any upcoming promotions or announcements in next month’s wrap-up, please email danielp@fst.net.au.