Posted inPeople Moves

PGI plucks ex-MAS exec to head SEA business

Celestine Khoo, the former head of external fund management at Singapore’s regulatory body, has been hired by Principal Global Investors.

Khoo will be managing director and head of Southeast Asia, based in Singapore. She will be responsible for helping develop growth initiatives in the region and will report to Kirk West, chief executive for Asia.

The firm said she was hired “to meet the growing business demands in the Southeast Asian region”.

“The Southeast Asia region is currently undergoing exciting growth and we are committed to expanding our businesses here,” said West, who highlighted Khoo’s experience in “fund management, central banks and sell-side institutions in the region”.

Khoo was previously director and head of external fund management in the department of reserve and monetary management at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Prior to that she was an associate director at UBS, working in investment banking and corporate finance, according to her online profile. 

As of December 31, Principal Global Investors, a member of the Principal Financial Group, managed $380bn in assets, primarily for retirement plans and other institutional clients.

Part of the Mark Allen Group.