HSBC's asset management arm has appointed veteran fund executive Blair Pickerell as its new Asia Pacific chief executive, replacing Paul Chow Man-yiu. Mr Pickerell was chairman of JF Funds until his resignation in December last year as its negotiations to form a mainland fund joint venture stalled and amid talks of a culture clash between the firm's old-timers and its new American shareholders. From today, Mr Pickerell will oversee HSBC Asset Management's regional activities, with key operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia. Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp chairman David Eldon said yesterday: 'Blair's extensive experience and expertise in the fund industry will be invaluable to our asset management business.' Mr Chow returned to the Hong Kong stock exchange this month as its chief executive, a position he held from 1991 to 1997. 'HSBC is probably the biggest financial institution in Hong Kong and has actually a very strong network throughout Asia,' Mr Pickerell said. 'So the potential to grow a really great fund management company is very much there. 'And it is very much in a growth mode. It was hard for me to say no.' Mr Pickerell set up Jardine Fleming's business in Taiwan in 1985 and was later credited for building its Hong Kong unit trust and Mandatory Provident Fund business. Jardine Fleming was swept up in a three-way merger with United States banking giants Chase Manhattan and JP Morgan in 2000. Under Mr Pickerell, JF Funds was the first foreign fund manager to sign a technical assistance pact with a Chinese firm. His departure from JF Funds to form a new firm, Capital Holdings, last year spurred market speculation that JF Funds old-timers' eagerness to tap China's nascent fund market, where profits could be years away, was at odds with the short-term focus of its new American shareholders. Other recently departed JF Funds officials include its former head of brand development and strategic planning Sandra Lee, who is now HSBC Asset Management's head of retail, marketing and product development.
