HSCBC GLOBAL AM’S APAC CIO LEAVES
Bill Maldonado, HSBC Global Asset Management’s chief investment officer for Asia-Pacific and global equities, will be leaving the firm to pursue other opportunities, according to a press statement.
Replacing him in the Apac CIO role is Cecilia Chan, who will assume her new role on 1 February. Currently, Chan is the firm’s chief investment officer for fixed income in Asia-Pacific.
Chan will report to Joanna Munro, the firm’s global chief investment officer.
The succession arrangement of Chan’s current fixed income role will be announced in due course, the firm noted.
Chan has been with HSBC Global AM since 1994 and has covered the Asian markets since 1987, according to the statement.
AMUNDI MAKES SENIOR APPOINTMENTS FOR GREATER CHINA
Amundi has bolstered its Greater China business with two senior appointments.
Xiaofeng Zhong, the firm’s CEO for North Asia, has been appointed to the newly created and expanded role of chairman for Greater China, according to a statement from the firm. Zhong joined the firm in 2011 as deputy CEO for sales and marketing and assumed his North CEO role in 2012.
Given that Zhong’s new role is expanded, he remains to be CEO for North Asia, the firm noted. As chairman for Greater China, Zhong will coordinate all activities conducted by Amundi Group in the region.
Zhong will report to Paris-based Bernard De Wit, deputy CEO of Amundi, and Vincent Mortier, group deputy chief investment officer and Asia (ex-Japan) supervisor.
Meanwhile, Clare Zhao joined Amundi in October as managing director and head of China business. Based in Beijing, Zhao oversees China’s institutional business and leads the qualified domestic limited partnership (QDLP)/wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) teams in Beijing. She reports to Zhong.
Before Amundi, Zhao was Vanguard’s managing director and head of distribution for mainland and Hong Kong. She also managed operations of Vanguard’s WFOE office and oversight of the Beijing representiative office as the general manager of the firm’s China business since 2017.
ODYSSEY CAPITAL NAMES NEW HEAD OF JAPAN REAL ESTATE
Alternatives asset manager Odyssey Capital has named John Kakita as its managing director in charge of Japan real estate, according to a press statement.
Kakita will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s real estate projects in Japan, including acquisitions of new hospitality assets for the firm’s funds and syndicates, as well as overall management and operations.
Kaikita is also now in charge of the recently launched Odyssey Japan Hospitality Fund II, which will be investing into undervalued Japanese hospitality real estate assets.
Within the real estate industry, Kakita has assumed various executive roles in the past 20 years. At Goldman Sachs Realty Japan, he led its asset management division in its four- to five-star hotel asset portfolio management, which follows his assignment as Hilton’s regional director of Japan and Micronesia, managing the global hotel chain’s operations in the region.
Most recently, Kakita was a CIO of a real estate fund in Tokyo, working on the development and asset management of hospitality assets.
CHARWELL CAPITAL FOUNDER JOINS GROUP OF BOUTIQUE ASSET MANAGERS
Founder of Hong Kong-based investment boutique Chartwell Capital, Ronald Chan, has joined the Group of Boutique Asset Managers (GBAM), according to a statement from the member association.
GBAM is a global organisation with boutique members across four continents. It is made up of specialist asset management firms, who share ideas with a view to strengthening their presence in international markets.
Chan, who founded Chartwell in 2007, currently serves the firm as chief investment officer for its Asian engagement strategies. He is also the author of the book “The Value Investors: Lessons from the World’s Top Fund Managers”.
Chan joined GBAM to share his experiences across the network and forge stronger ties across the industry, the statement said.
“Political relationships may be foundering but relationships in the asset management industry are flourishing more than ever,” Chan said in the statement. “I cannot think of a better moment in time when the industry needs to come together to share experiences and best practices,” he added.
Since 2016, Chan has been on the listing committee panel of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He is also a committee member of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s Belt and Road & Greater Bay Area Committee and the Hong Kong BioMedical Technology Development Advisory Council.
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