Amanda Irving

Schroders has announced senior leadership appointments in its Asia Pacific business as the Group continues to deliver on its ambitious growth strategy across Asia Pacific.

After more than 17 years with Schroders, Susan Soh, CEO of Schroders Asia Pacific, will retire from the firm at the end of this year. Susan leaves with a long track record of success in the key roles she has held, including a very strong period of business growth as CEO of Schroders Singapore and South-East Asia. Susan is a recognised leader in the industry, holding a number of public positions including Chairman of the Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS). She is also a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF). Susan will remain in a part-time Senior Advisor role at Schroders.

Succeeding Susan in the role as CEO of Schroders Asia Pacific is Chris Durack, who re-joins Schroders. Chris previously spent 10 years at Schroders in various leadership roles including CEO of Schroders Hong Kong, CEO of Schroders Australia and most recently, as Co-Head of Asia Pacific. Chris will assume the role from January 2023 and will be based in Singapore.

After four years driving growth in the Hong Kong business and contributing to the APAC Distribution initiatives, Amy Cho, CEO of Schroders Hong Kong and Deputy Head of Asia Pacific, has decided to pursue her aspirations and personal interests outside the company. Amy will transition her responsibilities from early January 2023.

Gopi Mirchandani, currently CEO and Head of Client Group Asia at NN Investment Partners (NNIP), will join Schroders and will be appointed as CEO of Schroders Hong Kong, reporting to Chris Durack and based in Hong Kong, with effect from mid-January 2023. Additionally, Gopi will take on the newly created role of Head of Strategy, Asia Pacific, where she will work with the leadership team to identify new business opportunities and partnerships to accelerate growth across the region. A lawyer by training, Gopi held senior legal and compliance roles in Monetary Authority of Singapore, Deutsche Asset Management and Fullerton Fund Management prior to taking on broader business roles.

Szu Yi Chin was appointed to a newly created role of Head of Distribution, Asia Pacific on 1 October 2022. Based in Singapore, she will work closely with our distribution, product and marketing teams in the region to drive the sales agenda and help fulfil our ambition to be our clients’ trusted advisor. Szu Yi was previously with Schroders for 12 years where she was responsible for the Mutual Funds business in Singapore and Malaysia. She spent the past eight years with Fidelity International where her last position was Chair and Head of Taiwan.

Amanda Irving, currently Head of Marketing for Australia, has been appointed Head of Marketing, APAC, with effect from 1 November 2022. Currently based in Sydney, Amanda will relocate to Singapore in January 2023. She replaces Michelle Han who has moved to London to take up the role of Global Head of Growth and Digital Marketing. Amanda has 20 years of financial services marketing experience and was Marketing Director at BT Financial Group prior to joining Schroders.

Peter Harrison, Group Chief Executive, Schroders, commented: “The Asia Pacific region is a key part of Schroders’ growth strategy, and we are proud to have a line-up of strong senior leaders in the region to sustain our business momentum. We have been fortunate to have a leader of Susan Soh’s calibre for the past 17 years, and whilst Susan will remain as a Senior Advisor to our business, we wish her well in her retirement from executive responsibilities. I am pleased to welcome Chris Durack back to the Schroders family. With a decade long tenure at Schroders and a wealth of industry knowledge, Chris is ideally placed to lead the Asia Pacific region and ensure the ongoing success of our business.”

Lieven Debruyne, Global Head of Distribution, Schroders, commented: “With the appointment of Chris Durack and the strength of his leadership team in the Asia Pacific region, I am confident we will continue to deliver leading global and local investment solutions to our clients across the region. To help drive our strategy forward, Schroders warmly welcomes Gopi Mirchandani and Szu Yi Chin to our business and Amanda Irving to Singapore. We thank Amy Cho for leading a successful business in Hong Kong over the last four years, amidst the incredibly challenging environment and market conditions, and broader contributions to the region in her Deputy Head role. We wish her the best in her new pursuits.”

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In April 2020, Susan Soh and Chris Durack were appointed as Co-Heads of Asia Pacific. Chris has decided to leave Schroders due to a change in family health circumstances which prevents a planned relocation to Asia to continue his APAC leadership responsibilities. Chris will remain with Schroders until the end of October to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities.

Lieven Debruyne, Global Head of Distribution, said: “Chris has driven a strong focus on client outcomes through the development of business and people strategy. We continue to see growth opportunities and progress in the APAC region. With a complete leadership team in place, Susan is well placed to assume full responsibility for the region and take the business to the next stage of growth. I would like to thank Chris for his significant contributions to the business and wish him all the best for the future.”

Peter Harrison, Schroders Group CEO, commented: “Chris leaves Schroders with a track record of success in the roles he has held over the last decade. As Co-head of Asia Pacific, his focus on collaboration and greater inclusion across the leadership teams in the region has helped to ensure cultural and strategic settings for the ongoing success of our business and our clients.”

Chris Durack said: “During my decade long tenure at Schroders, I have had the privilege of working with and learning from great colleagues and clients for which I am hugely grateful. Schroders remains extremely well positioned to capture growth opportunities and I wish the business every success for the future.”

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Sam Hallinan

Schroders has announced that Sam Hallinan will join as CEO, Australia in April. He will report to Chris Durack, co-CEO APAC, who will continue to have oversight of the Australian business as part of his regional responsibilities and remain a director of Schroders Australia.

Sam joins from Nikko Asset Management where, since 2015, he was managing director of the Australian business. Sam brings over 25 years’ experience in financial services with significant leadership roles in the Australian asset management industry.

Sam’s appointment provides a dedicated, focussed oversight of the Australian business as it invests in strengthening existing capabilities in Australian equities, multi-asset, fixed income and global equities, while extending its capabilities including the local build-out of its private debt team and tailored client solutions.

Lieven Debruyne, global head of distribution, said: “With the appointment of Sam, we continue to demonstrate our investment in the quality of our management team. At the same time, through Chris’ leadership we are continuing to drive our priorities in the region supporting the development of our investment capabilities for our clients.”

Chris Durack, co-CEO Asia Pacific said: “We are thrilled to welcome Sam to our team and his appointment highlights our focus and commitment to the ongoing investment in the Australian business. Sam’s experience and proven leadership will add further depth to our management capability as we remain focused on delivering great investment outcomes for our Australian clients.”

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Following the promotion of Lieven Debruyne from CEO, Asia Pacific to Global Head of Distribution earlier this year, Chris Durack, Country Head of Australia, and Susan Soh, Country Head of Singapore, will succeed Lieven Debruyne and have been appointed as Co-Heads of Asia Pacific with effect from Q2 2020. Chris and Susan will retain their roles as country heads of Australia and Singapore respectively.

In Japan, Noriaki (Nori) Kurose will join Schroders as Country Head of Japan on 1 May. Nori joins from Pictet Asset Management, where he held the position of Managing Director and Board member of the Japan business. Nori succeeds Shigesuke Kashiwagi, who has decided to step down on completion of his term of directorship.

Peter Harrison, Group Chief Executive, Schroders, commented: “Schroders recognises the importance of the Asia Pacific region, which has seen rapid growth and offers continued opportunities for our clients.  Our focus on the region is a key part of our ongoing strategy, so it is critical for us to ensure we have best-in-class leadership, ensuring we can meet the needs of new and existing clients.” 

Lieven Debruyne, Global Head of Distribution, Schroders commented: “I am pleased to hand over leadership of the APAC business to established senior leaders Chris Durack and Susan Soh. With their combined wealth of industry and client engagement experience, our strong performing business across Asia Pacific is well positioned for the next stage of growth. We are also delighted to welcome Nori to his new role, and look forward to benefitting from his deep knowledge and understanding of the Japanese market.”

Chris Durack has served as CEO of Schroders Australia since 2018, having originally joined Schroders as Head of Distribution in Australia in 2011 and then serving as Country Head of Schroders Hong Kong. Prior to this, he was CEO of NSW State Super Corporation.

Susan Soh joined Schroders Singapore as Head of Distribution in 2005 and was appointed CEO of Schroders Singapore in 2007. She serves as a Council Member of the Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF) and is also Chair of the Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS).

Noriaki (Nori) Kurose was formerly Managing Director and a Board Member at Pictet Asset Management (Japan), where he spent seven years in various senior institutional and retail sales and product roles. Prior to that, he worked 10 years at Man Investment Securities Japan where he was the Deputy Head of Marketing and Business Development.

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