Weekly roundup of people news, April 5 | Moves

NZ SUPER CIO TO TAKE HELM AT CALPERS

Stephen Gilmore, chief investment officer of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZ Super Fund), has been appointed as the new CIO of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS).

After a tenure that saw the NZ Super Fund nearly double in size to over NZ$73 billion ($43.9 billion), Gilmore will leave the fund at the end of June 2024.

He will transition to his new position at CalPERS at the beginning of July 2024, the United States pension fund announced on April 2.

Gilmore joined NZ Super Fund as CIO in 2019. Before that, he served as chief investment strategist at Australia’s Future Fund and holding senior roles at Morgan Stanley and the International Monetary Fund.

CalPERS is the largest pension plan in the US with $494 billion in assets under management. As its incoming CIO, Gilmore will oversee a team of over 300 investment professionals. His annual salary has been set at $718,750, excluding performance-based incentives.

NZ SUPER NAMES NEW CEO

Jo Townsend

The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation have announced the appointment of Jo Townsend as the new chief executive of NZ Super Fund.

Townsend, an accomplished Australian superannuation executive, previously led Funds SA for eight years, managing A$42 billion of public sector funds until her departure in mid-2023.

She steps into the role following Matt Whineray’s exit in the preceding year, following a decade and a half with the fund and a five-year tenure as its chief.

Chair John Williamson highlighted that Townsend is the first external CEO hire since Adrian Orr in 2007.

Commencing her role in April 2024, Townsend’s prior experience spans across various investment management roles, including at REST Super as general manager of investments and acting chief operating officer, as well as positions at NGS Super, Retirement Benefits Fund, and Value Capital Management.

HSBC NAMES NEW GLOBAL INSURANCE CEO

Ed Moncreiffe

HSBC promoted Ed Moncreiffe to chief executive officer, global insurance with immediate effect. He succeeds Greg Hingston, who will pursue opportunities outside of HSBC, the firm announced on April 5.

Based in Hong Kong, Moncreiffe was most recently CEO of HSBC Life Hong Kong and Macau.

Daisy Tsang, chief distribution and customer officer, HSBC Life Hong Kong, will become interim CEO, HSBC Life Hong Kong, until a permanent replacement is announced.

Greg Hingston

Moncreiffe has been with the HSBC Group for 18 years during which time he has held a number of leadership roles, including global head of retail insurance, and global head of insurance strategic partnerships.

The former global CEO Greg Hingston worked at HSBC for 18 years. He became CEO of HSBC global insurance and partnerships in January 2022.

Before HSBC, he also held senior roles at Prudential.

KKR APPOINTS APAC HEAD FOR INSTITUTIONAL AND FAMILY CAPITAL

Kate Richdale

KKR promoted Kate Richdale to the newly created role as head of global client solutions institutional sales and family capital for Asia Pacific, as the alternative giant stepped up its fundraising activities across the region.

Richdale will continue to be based in Hong Kong. She reports to Eric Mogelof, partner and global head of global client solutions, who is based in New York, AsianInvestor can reveal.

In the new role, she will focus on leading KKR’s institutional capital and family capital efforts in Asia Pacific, helping to drive capital raising priorities in the region. This includes further building out KKR’s co-investment business.

The appointment will allow Richdale to draw on her connectivity with sovereign wealth funds, institutions, and families in Asia Pacific.

Richdale joined KKR in 2019 as head of strategy and business development for Asia Pacific, and had more recently also served as the firm’s Asia-Pacific chief operating officer.

Prior to joining KKR, Richdale was chairman of investment banking in Asia ex-Japan at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong. Before that, she was head of investment banking for Asia Pacific at Morgan Stanley.

DAI-ICHI LIFE GETS AI OFFICER

Dai-ichi Life Holdings appointed Figen Ulgen as chief data and AI officer, effective April 1.

Ulgen will lead Dai-ichi Life’s data strategy, including governance policies, managing data security, and leveraging emerging technologies that can generate actionable analytical insights.

She will also focus on evaluation of new AI tools and third-party investment targets to enhance AI capabilities. She will report to Stephen Barnham, chief information officer and chief digital officer.

Ulgen was most recently chief data officer, global offices at Line, the Japanese messenger platform. She previously held roles at Intel, Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, and Motorola.

GOLUB CAPITAL HIRES MD FOR NEW JAPAN OFFICE

Shuji Hatsukaiwa

Private credit specialist Golub Capital appointed Shuji Hatsukaiwa as managing director in Japan. He will be based in its newly opened Tokyo office.

In the new role, Hatsukaiwa will focus on deepening relationships with investors across Japan.

Hatsukaiwa most recently served as head of alternative sales and product at Schroders Japan.

Schroders declined to comment on AsianInvestor‘s enquiries into when he left the firm and who has taken over his responsibilities.

Hatsukaiwa previously held roles at Alternative Investment Capital and Mitsubishi Corporation.

PATRIZIA APPOINTS JAPAN CO-HEADS

German real estate and infrastructure asset manager Patrizia appointed Masami Takizawa and Thomas Hirschvogel as co-heads of Japan, effective April 2.

In their new roles, Takizawa and Hirschvogel are jointly responsible for overseeing the company’s ¥150 billion ($98.9 million) Japanese investment platform as well as the operations of Patrizia’s Tokyo office.

In her new role, Takizawa acts as a representative director of the entity and will play a pivotal role in establishing relationships with Patrizia’s global client base. She assumes responsibility for transactions alongside her existing role as head of capital markets for Japan.

The other co-head Hirschvogel oversees asset management and fund operations in Japan. He assumes the new responsibilities alongside his existing roles as regional head of Asia Pacific and fund manager for Patrizia’s residential fund in Japan.

Both Takizawa and Hirschvogel will continue to report to Konrad Finkenzeller, head of global client solutions and member of Patrizia’s Executive Committee.

Takizawa joined Patrizia in 2020 from JP Morgan Asset Management, while Hirschvogel joined the company in 2017 from Brookfield Financial.

CBRE NAMES SENIOR LEADERS FOR ADVISORY AND TRANSACTIONS SERVICES TEAM

CBRE announced two leadership appointments to its Advisory & Transactions Services (A&T) team in Asia Pacific, with Richard Stevenson promoted to managing director, head of office occupier and Rohini Saluja promoted to managing director, head of consulting and integrated client solutions, effective April 1, 2024.

Richard Stevenson

In his expanded role, Stevenson will focus on client-facing activities across non-contracted pursuits, and assist CBRE’s office occupier professionals within the region to coordinate new business, steward partnerships, and share best practices. 

Meanwhile, Saluja will work closely with market leaders to define client pursuit targets and integrate CBRE’s product offerings across multiple business lines and lead discussions with clients on complex real estate strategies.

Rohini Saluja

Both Stevenson and Saluja report to Luke Moffat, head of advisory and transaction services, CBRE Asia Pacific.

In another development, the firm also appointed Ada Fung as A&T services, CBRE Hong Kong, effective April 1.  

Ada Fung

In her expanded role, Fung will oversee all the A&T business lines, including office services, workplace, retail, industrial and logistics services and transaction management.

In the expanded role, she will continue to report directly to Tom Gaffney, president of North Asia, advisory services, CBRE, and will have a dotted-line reporting relationship with Luke Moffat, head of advisory and transaction services, CBRE Asia Pacific.

Fung has been head of office services, advisory and transaction services for Hong Kong since 2021.

She joined CBRE in 2011, and held several senior positions across various business lines, including project management and Greater China sales and pitch management team.