BlackRock has appointed Tomoko Ueda to the position of Chief Operating Officer for Asia Pacific, effective September 3.

This appointment expands the role played by Ms. Ueda, who oversees all business operations in the region and leads the Finance, Corporate Strategy & Development teams to drive growth and operational efficiency. She reports to Head of Asia Pacific Susan Chan and will relocate to Hong Kong from Tokyo.

Ms. Ueda joined BlackRock in 2022 as Asia Pacific Head of Corporate Strategy & Development to formulate the firm’s strategy and execute against strategic priorities, while pursuing partnership opportunities in Asia Pacific. Before joining the firm, she was responsible for Strategy and Finance at Nikko Asset Management in Japan. She has had multiple leadership roles serving clients in the investment banking operations of Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch in the UK and Japan.

Tomoko succeeds James Raby, who is relocating to New York to take on the role of Global Head of Compliance.

Susan Chan, BlackRock’s Head of Asia Pacific, said: “As we power into our next chapter of growth in Asia Pacific, I’m thrilled to appoint Tomoko as Chief Operating Officer. She has demonstrated exceptional leadership in driving BlackRock’s growth initiatives throughout the region to align with the structural changes taking place in the global economy. These market forces – be they digital disruption, demographic divergence, transition to a low-carbon economy or geopolitical fragmentation – are presenting us with opportunities to share our expertise and insights with clients and investors, as they rethink their portfolios to generate returns. We are uniquely positioned to accelerate our momentum in this part of the world, and I’m confident Tomoko will have tremendous positive impact on our long-term success.”

Ms. Chan added: “James has been a dedicated and passionate leader. Beyond the direct impact he’s had on our business, he has mentored many of our young and talented professionals. On behalf of everyone in the BlackRock Asia-Pacific team, I wish to thank James for his great partnership over the past three years and wish him every success in the new role.”

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Tomoko Ueda

BlackRock has announced the appointment of Tomoko Ueda as APAC Head of Corporate Strategy and Development and Aarti Angara as APAC Head of Product. These appointments mark continued investment in the firm’s leadership and expertise to advance regional strategy and develop products that reflect APAC investor needs.

In her new role, Ms. Ueda will partner with business leaders regionally and globally to formulate and execute the firm’s strategy to support clients across APAC. Ms. Ueda was most recently Senior Corporate Officer and Global Head of Strategic Planning and Management Information at Nikko Asset Management. Prior to that, she was Managing Director, Equity Capital Markets at Merrill Lynch Japan Securities, after serving Morgan Stanley as Head of Equity Capital Markets.

As APAC Head of Product, Ms. Angara will lead platform initiatives on product creation and implementation to provide the offerings regional and global investors need to achieve their financial goals. She most recently served as Chief Investment Officer at Caravel Asset Management in Hong Kong, where she was responsible for fund performance, portfolio management, and asset allocation decisions. Prior to that, she was Co-Head of Morgan Stanley’s proprietary investment Special Situations Group for Non-Japan Asia.

Rachel Lord, Chair and Head of APAC said: “It is an incredibly exciting time for BlackRock in APAC. Our ambition is to help clients in ways that transform the asset management industry in the region, and we are strengthening our leadership team with uniquely qualified regional talent to do so.”

Tomoko Ueda, incoming Head of Strategy for APAC said: “BlackRock is consistently ahead of the curve in terms of its vision for both the industry and the region. I am eager to leverage its global expertise and client focus to advance a strategy designed to help investors in APAC and globally.” 

Aarti Angara, incoming Head of Product for APAC said: “BlackRock is known for challenging itself to think differently, and I look forward to deepening the APAC investor perspectives that are at the heart of the firm’s regional offerings.”

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