Standard Chartered names new CEO

Standard Chartered Bank Singapore has appointed Judy Hsu as CEO, effective 1 October 2015. Hsu succeeds Neeraj Swaroop who will be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.Hsu (pictured) will be based in Singapore and reporting to Ajay Kanwal, regional CEO, ASEAN and South Asia. Kanwal has been tasked to lead the firm’s ASEAN and South Asia business under a new regional structure that will take effect from 1 October 2015.The appointment comes amidst news surfacing on Bloomberg that the bank was considering cutting as many as 250 of about 1000 managing directors.A spokesperson from the bank, however, told Marketing that those are mere speculations. A note from the bank to Marekting also said: "When we announced the Management Team and organisational changes in July, we indicated that there would be further personnel changes to come, as we simplify our organisational structure.""Bill has made it clear that kick-starting performance is a priority, and we are not standing still. This next stage of personnel and organisational change is a natural part of the process needed to reposition the Group for growth. We have not set any specific target for headcount reduction, and we have no comment on speculation around individuals or individual roles at this time.”Earlier this year, the bank also announced the closure of its equities business which led to 200 job cuts across APAC offices.As CEO, Hsu will be responsible for developing and executing the strategy for the business; building relationships with local clients and businesses; bottom-line profitability and capital; and relationships with local regulators and stakeholders.Hsu has a career spanning over 25 years in the financial industry, and extensive experience for the last 16 years in wealth management, retail banking and private bank. She joined Standard Chartered in 2009 and her most recent position is group head, wealth management for which she will remain responsible over a transitional period.Kanwal said: “The appointment of Hsu as the CEO of the Singapore business further highlights our focus on leveraging Singapore as an international financial centre and as a gateway to Asia. With Hsu’s added benefit of managing global and regional businesses, and nurturing high-performing teams, we are confident that she will effectively lead the team in Singapore and strengthen our business for our next phase of growth.”Meanwhile, the bank also hired Damien Cummings as global head of digital marketing. He joined the bank in June 2015 and is currently based in Singapore. He reports directly to Sanjeeb Chaudhuri, group head of brand and chief marketing officer.