ASIFMA appoints Peter Stein as new CEO
The Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) announced the appointment of Peter Stein as CEO. Based in Hong Kong, he will commence his CEO position at ASIFMA in February 2024. Stein replaces Alice Law, who resigned from the role in July 2023.
Stein is currently the CEO and managing director of the Private Wealth Management Association. He took over as managing director of PWMA in December 2016, and was later named CEO in July 2021. Prior to joining PWMA in December 2016, Stein worked for UBS, where he served as head of Regulatory Advisory & Relations for Asia Pacific and before that as head of Group Governmental Affairs for Asia Pacific. He also acted as an ASIFMA Board member during his tenure at UBS.
Harshika Patel, chair of ASIFMA, said in a statement: “Together with his experience of the industry, Peter has developed strong ties with ASIFMA over the years given his most recent role as the head of a fellow industry association. We are very much looking forward to Peter’s leadership in this exciting new chapter for ASIFMA.”
Anne Richards steps down as CEO into vice chair role at Fidelity International
Fidelity International announced that, after five years leading Fidelity International as CEO, Anne Richards has decided to step down from her full-time executive role. She will remain with the company in the role of vice chair with an emphasis on helping the organization with its key external relationships and strategic partnerships.
Richards will remain as CEO during a period of transition led by the Fidelity International Board that will take place over the coming months.
Abby Johnson, chair of Fidelity International, said in a statement: “Over the last five years Anne has accomplished a tremendous amount for our organization in service of our clients. She has spearheaded the build out of a wide range of new capabilities and services across multiple markets, as well as our firmwide approach to sustainability, setting us firmly on the path for the future. She made significant progress in building a more diverse and inclusive workplace, leading initiatives such as enhanced parental leave, carers leave and dynamic working, ensuring we are well placed to attract and retain the best talent in a post pandemic world.”
Michel-Alain Proch named LSEG’s new CFO
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) announced that Michel-Alain Proch has been appointed chief financial officer and a member of the Board. Reporting to David Schwimmer, he will join LSEG in February 2024 before joining the Board as CFO in March 2024, when Anna Manz steps down from the Board and leaves the Group.
Michel-Alain Proch is currently Group CFO for Publicis Groupe, where he is a member of the Management Board leading the global finance team across 100 countries. Prior to this, he has held several listed company CFO positions, notably at Ingenico and Atos, where he was also CEO for North America and Group chief digital officer. Michel-Alain is vice chair of the Board, Maisons du Monde.
David Schwimmer, CEO at LSEG, said in a statement: “[Michel-Alain’s] deep experience across global, financial infrastructure and IT data solutions firms will be invaluable as we deliver against the next stage of our strategic growth.”
Bloomberg: Citigroup cuts over 300 senior manager roles
Citigroup is eliminating more than 300 senior manager roles as part of CEO Jane Fraser’s efforts to simplify the bank, Bloomberg reports. The cuts affect staffers two levels below Fraser’s executive management team and amount to roughly 10% of the workers at that level, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg.
Reportedly, Marc Pagano, head of emerging markets credit trading, and Adrian Lui, head of spread products trading for Asia Pacific, are among those leaving the firm, as well as Dirk Keijer, head of equities trading for Europe.
Even before the restructuring plan began, Citigroup had racked up about $650 million in severance charges as part of cutting 7,000 positions in the first nine months of this year. Still, firmwide headcount has actually remained flat for the past four quarters at 240,000 employees. The bank has added technology staffers and others to help with its efforts to resolve a pair of consent orders the firm received from regulators.
SFT: Danske Bank taps Jonas Ӧrn for equity finance role
Danske Bank has hired Jonas Ӧrn as senior equity finance trader and specialist advisor based in Stockholm, reports Securities Finance Times. Ӧrn will report to Alexander Kilander, global head of equity finance. He brings more than 15 years of experience in equity finance to the role.
Prior to Danske Bank, Ӧrn served as senior equity finance trader at Nordic financial services group SEB for four years. Previously, he was chief dealer for equity finance at capital markets and investment banking house Nordea Markets for 11 years.