Asia moves: Natixis equity derivatives head departs, new banking head for JP Morgan, and more

Cedric Dubois, previously head of Natixis’s equity derivatives for Asia, has left the firm, according to his LinkedIn profile. A Natixis spokeswoman in Hong Kong declined to comment. His LinkedIn lists him as chief executive of RiskNext, a firm he founded in 2010. 

Dubois joined Natixis in January 2014 in London, and relocated to Hong Kong in July the following year. 

Nicolas Reille, who left Natixis in January following a €260 million ($300 million) hit resulting largely from the sale of equity structured products in Asia, is set to join Barclays, according to two people familiar with the move. 

Reille, who was head of global market sales and financial engineering in Asia at Natixis, was one of the key executives behind the French bank’s push into Asian structured products. 

He is expected to join the UK bank’s derivatives sales and distribution team in Hong Kong, one of the people said. He may join in the coming months after completing a period of gardening leave, during which he is unable to join a competitor, the other person said. A Barclays spokeswoman in Hong Kong declined comment.

JP Morgan has named Filippo Gori as its Asia-Pacific banking head. Gori has been with the bank in Asia for the last five years and replaces Nicolas Aguzin, who has taken over as chief executive officer of JP Morgan’s international private bank, according to a memo. 

Aguzin remains as chief executive of Asia-Pacific in addition to his new role, while Gori will be his deputy in the region.

Standard Chartered has appointed Chow Wan Thonh as head of global banking for Singapore. She joins from HSBC, where she was head of global banking in Singapore and head of corporates, financials and multinational banking for South-east Asia. 

Wan Thonh takes over from Patrick Lee, who became the chief executive officer of the bank’s Singapore franchise in July 2018. She reports to Bharat Padmanabhan, regional head of global banking, Asean and South Asia, and Lee.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management has relocated Andrew Harmstone, managing director and senior portfolio manager in the global multi-asset team and head of global balanced risk control, from London to Singapore. 

The move is part of the establishment of the Asian arm of the global balanced risk control team in Singapore on the back of strong client demand in the region. The team was first formed in 2008 in London. Harmstone joined the firm in 2008 and brings with him over 37 years of industry experience.

BNP Paribas Asset Management has appointed Paul Sandhu in a newly created role as head of multi-assets quant solutions (MAQS) and client advisory for Asia-Pacific with immediate effect. The MAQS team is the firm’s investment group built around solutions for multi-asset, structured and quantitative management. 

Based in Hong Kong, Sandhu reports to Anton Wouters, head of solutions and client advisory. He joins from Conning, where he was instrumental in setting up the company’s business operations in Asia as managing director and head of investment solutions.

UBS Global Wealth Management has appointed Desmond Kuek as divisional vice-chairman from February 18. Kuek will be based in Singapore. He was chief executive at the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Corporation from 2012–18. He will report to UBS’s head of ultra-high net worth, Joe Stadler, and Asia-Pacific president Edmund Koh.

Fitch Ratings has named Matthew Ginsburg as chairman, Asia-Pacific. He succeeds Bernard de Lattre, who is stepping down from the role but will remain at Fitch for the foreseeable future in order to ensure a smooth transition. 

Reporting to Ian Linnell, president of Fitch Ratings, the chairman of Asia-Pacific provides strategic oversight and direction to the Asia-Pacific team as part of a non-executive role, including guidance and mentorship to senior management in the region. 

Ginsburg has been based in Hong Kong since 1992 and has held various senior management positions within sizeable businesses in Asia, most recently as head of investment banking, Asia-Pacific, for Barclays.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has named Calvin Nguyen as head of global corporate banking for its commercial banking arm MUFG Bank in Vietnam. Nguyen was previously country head for global banking at Vietnam International Bank. 

Nguyen will report to Keiji Shiwa, deputy general manager of MUFG’s Hanoi branch, and to Sanjiv Vohra, head of global corporate banking and co-head of investment banking at MUFG for Asia and Oceania region.

Australia’s Clime Investment Management has named Adam Youkhana as general manager, private wealth and distribution. Youkhana’s background includes positions as the former general manager of wealth at ASX-listed Yellow Brick Road; head of advice and wealth management at Westpac Private Bank; and head of financial advice and investments at NAB Private Wealth. Youkhana will be leading the client-facing functions of the Clime group.