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Key people

    Head of the Americas

    Matthew is Managing Director, Head of the Americas business for Eastspring Investments, and is based in Chicago.

    Matthew’s key responsibilities are to grow the institutional businesses in the Americas and to manage the firm’s expansion there. Specifically, he focuses on sub-advisory, private banks, pensions, endowments and foundations, and investment consultants.

    Matthew has more than 30 years of financial services experience and was previously head of product and distribution at RBC Global Asset management where he was charged with growing the US business in all channels for RBC. Before that he was head of global distribution at Old Mutual Asset Management where he led teams establishing and managing relationships with major institutional and retail investors around the globe. Prior to that, Matthew had a leadership role in the consultant relations group of Fidelity Investments Institutional business. Matthew started his career with Coopers and Lybrand first as an auditor and then in their consulting practice.

    Matthew holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst® and a Certified Public Accountant.

    Director, Institutional Business Development, Eastspring Investments, Americas

    Craig joined Eastspring Investments as Director, Institutional Business Development in January 2021. Craig’s focus is to assist in the development of the Eastspring brand and growing institutional assets under management. Based in Chicago, Craig works with institutional asset owners, investment consultants, and select wealth/RIA and sub-advisory platforms in the Americas.

    Craig brings more than 25 years experience in institutional asset management and business development. Before joining Eastspring, he was Senior Director, Institutional Client Development with Aegon Asset Management U.S.  He also has held senior roles with Evanston Capital Management, Calamos Advisors, Columbia Management, and Fidelity Investments.

    Craig completed his undergraduate studies at the Peter T. Paul College of Economics & Business at the University of New Hampshire, with a B.S. in Business Administration.  He holds FINRA Series 6, 7, & 63 licenses, as well as the NFA Series 3 license, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst® and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

    Assistant Director - Intermediary Sales, US

    Carmen joined Eastspring Investments in April 2021. Based in Chicago, her focus is on assisting in the development of the Eastspring brand, growing US offshore assets under management and supporting Eastspring’s third party marketers in the Americas.

    Carmen has more than 25 years of US offshore industry experience covering global banks, broker-dealers, family offices and clearing firms. Before joining Eastspring, she was Director – Intermediary Sales at GAM, where she was responsible for overseeing GAM’s US offshore intermediary business, including key account relationships, marketing and sales initiatives and the onboarding of clients. She began her career at Merrill Lynch as a sales assistant working with Brazilian clients.

    Carmen earned a Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, from Knox College, and a Master of Business Administration from Northern Illinois University. She received a Certificate in Portfolio Management from the NYU School of Professional Studies. She holds FINRA Series 7 & 63 licenses and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). She speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese.

    Institutional Business Development

    Michael joined Eastspring Investments in September 2021. His focus is on growing institutional assets under management and supporting product strategy and development . Based in Chicago, Michael works with institutional asset owners, investment consultants, and select wealth/RIA and sub-advisory platforms in the Americas.

    Michael is an experienced institutional investments professional with more than 8 years of industry experience. He joined Eastspring from BMO Global Asset management, where he was a Vice President and Head of Institutional Product Strategy. Prior to this role, Michael worked at Neuberger Berman where he worked as a Portfolio Analytics Associate for their Non-Investment Grade and Floating Rate Loan team. Michael started his career with Mercer as an Investment Consultant.

    Michael holds a BBA in Finance and BA in History from the University of Notre Dame.

    Chief Compliance & Governance Officer, Eastspring Investments, Americas

    Brian is Chief Compliance & Governance Officer at Eastspring Investments and is based in Chicago. His focus is on the administration of all aspects of the firm’s compliance and governance program – including liaison with regulators and developing, overseeing, and maintaining compliance policies in the Americas.

    Brian has more than 30 years’ investment adviser, mutual fund, and broker dealer compliance experience. He began his career as an examiner with the Chicago Stock Exchange and then served as compliance officer before becoming a CCO for institutional investment advisers. Brian joined Eastspring in September 2019 from Northern Trust, where he was the Chief Compliance Officer for Northern Trust Funds and Northern Trust FlexShares ETFs.

    Brian earned his BA in political science from Iowa State University and also holds an ABA paralegal graduate certificate from Roosevelt University. He is a certified fraud examiner.

    Chief Executive Officer

    Seck Wai-Kwong is Chief Executive Officer of Eastspring Investments, the asset management business of Prudential Corporation Asia, part of Prudential plc of the UK.

    He oversees the management of USD193 billion of assets (as at 31 December 2018), with responsibility for growing the business, deepening the investment capabilities, and expanding the firm’s global and local retail and institutional client base. Wai-Kwong chairs the Eastspring Investments Executive Committee and sits on the Board of Prudential Corporation Asia.

    Seck Wai-Kwong joined Eastspring in April 2019 from State Street Bank and Trust Company, where he was Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, overseeing 17 geographical markets.

    Prior to joining State Street in 2011, Wai-Kwong was Chief Financial Officer of the Singapore Exchange for eight years. His professional career had been focused primarily on wealth management and investment banking, having held senior-level positions in the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Lehman Brothers and DBS Bank.

    Seck Wai-Kwong is a board member of the GIC. He is also chairman of the Investment Committee and a Trustee at the Singapore Police Force’s pension fund. He chairs the Future Leaders Council at the Wealth Management Institute of Nanyang Technology Institute and serves on both the Board of Regents of Trinity International University in Chicago and as a member of the Global Advisory Board of Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. Wai-Kwong is also a member of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s Business School Advisory Council and a Governor of the Singapore International School in Hong Kong.

    Seck Wai-Kwong earned a Master of Business Administration with Distinction (with a major in finance) from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a Bachelor of Economics with first-class honors from Australia’s Monash University, where he is a Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow and serves on the Monash Philanthropy Council. On Singapore’s National Day in 2017, the Republic awarded him the Public Service Medal.

    Regional CEO and Global Head of Distribution, Marketing & Products

    Wendy Lim is Regional CEO and Global Head of Distribution, Marketing & Products and a member of the Executive Management Committee at Eastspring Investments.

    As Regional CEO, she has overall management responsibilities for our global markets. She leads the Distribution function, including institutional and retail segments, and oversees Marketing and Products. Wendy is also responsible for the Prudential Life business relationship management which ensures close collaboration in building an integrated wealth capability.

    Prior to joining Eastspring in November 2021, Wendy was CEO of Singapore & Regional Head of High-Net-Worth Segment, Asia, for Manulife Investment Management. She was also a member of the Wealth & Asset Management Executive Committee for Asia and an Executive Director of the Manulife Investment Management Singapore board.

    Wendy has over 30 years of experience in retail banking, wealth and asset management in Asia. Before joining Manulife Investment Management, she held various senior-level positions at BNY Mellon Investment Management, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, the Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Citibank.

    Wendy holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Business Administration from Indiana State University.

    Head of Eastspring Portfolio Advisors (EPA)

    Kelvin Blacklock is the Head of Eastspring Portfolio Advisors (EPA) at Eastspring Investments. Based in Singapore, he manages the EPA team which focuses on multi asset investment solutions for both internal and external clients.  He is a member of the Executive Management Committee.

    Kelvin has a total of 30 years of investment experience across a wide range of asset classes and markets. Over his 19-year tenure at Eastspring, Kelvin has been  responsible for  the fixed income team, derivatives and structured products as well as alternative assets and, from 2009, has managed the multi- asset solutions team (which was renamed EPA in 2019).

    Kelvin has extensive experience with Asian life insurance clients across the region, working with them on many aspects of their investments from Strategic Asset Allocation, risk management & derivative hedging, sub manager selection, alternatives as well as Tactical Asset Allocation and ESG.

    Prior to joining Eastspring, Kelvin worked for 11 years at Schroders Investment Management, in various roles within the global fixed income team based in London, Hong Kong and Singapore.

    Kelvin holds a Bachelor of Science (First Class Hons)  in Mathematical Sciences from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland (1989). He is also a CFA charterholder.

    Chief Risk Officer

    Gwee Siew Ping joined Eastspring Investments, the Asian asset management business of Prudential plc, as Chief Risk Officer, in 2013.

    She is responsible for Legal, Risk & Compliance across the 11 markets in which Eastspring Investments operate.

    Before joining Eastspring Investments, Siew Ping worked at Schroders, where she was Regional Head of Compliance and Risk, Asia Pacific. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of a number of the Schroder entities incorporated in Singapore including the asset management and the merchant bank entities. She joined Schroders in 1997 and held several senior compliance roles within the firm. Prior to Schroders, she was an Internal Auditor at Swiss Bank Corporation and JP Morgan respectively, leading audits in the Global Markets and Emerging Markets Treasury audits across Asia Pacific.

    In 2009, Siew Ping was awarded the Distinguished Financial Industry Certified Professional certification in Compliance - Fund Management by the Institute of Banking and Finance.

    Siew Ping holds a MBA awarded by the University of Manchester (Manchester Business School) and a Bachelor of Accountancy Degree from the National University of Singapore. She is also professionally qualified as a Chartered Accountant of Singapore by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.

    Chief Executive Officer, Singapore<br>Head of Eastspring Portfolio Strategies (EPS)

    Boon Peng Ooi joined Eastspring Investments, the Asian asset management business of Prudential plc, in July 2007.

    Boon Peng is the Chief Executive Officer of Eastspring Singapore and Eastspring Hong Kong. As CEO of Eastspring Singapore, Boon Peng is responsible for the Singapore office, which serves as Eastspring’s central hub. He also assumes the role of Regional Fixed Income Officer, which entails working closely with the CIO, Eastspring Investments, in the strategic development and growth of our Fixed Income capabilities across the region.

    Prior to joining Eastspring Investments, Boon Peng was Chief Investment Officer and Executive Director at UOB Asset Management, Alternative Investments, where he was responsible for the business and investment management of CDOs and credit assets. Prior to joining UOB AM, he was Head of Fixed Income at Fullerton Fund Management Company. There, he oversaw the management of fixed income investments in developed and emerging bond markets. Boon Peng also spent 15 years of his career with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) where he worked in various areas of the Reserves Management Department, including seven years managing funds out of the MAS New York Office.

    Boon Peng has more than 30 years of investment experience. In 2014, Boon Peng was conferred the title of “IBF Fellow” by the Institute of Banking and Finance of Singapore. This honour is aimed at recognising industry veterans who have demonstrated mastery of a profession and exemplify thought leadership and commitment to industry development. He was also named CIO of the Year in Asia Asset Management’s Best of the Best Regional Awards for 2014 and 2015.

    Boon Peng holds a Bachelor of Science (Building) (Hons) degree from National University of Singapore and is a CFA charterholder.

    Chief Human Resources Officer

    Cynthia Tan is Chief Human Resources Officer at Eastspring Investments, the asset management business of Prudential Corporation Asia and part of Prudential plc of the UK.
    She is a member of the Eastspring Executive Committee and has responsibility for developing and executing a people and culture plan that will support the firm’s growth in the long-term.
    Cynthia has more than 20 years of human resources experience in the banking and finance sector across Asia. Prior to joining Eastspring Investments, she worked at ING Bank in Singapore where, for more than 10 years, she was head of HR for Asia Pacific for the retail and wholesale bank.
    During her time at ING, Cynthia led the HR integration of TMB in Thailand, initiating cultural change activities and supporting transformation initiatives across Asia. Prior to ING, Cynthia held HR roles at Standard Chartered Bank and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp.
    Cynthia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Sociology from the National University of Singapore. She also has a graduate diploma in personnel management from the Singapore Institute of Management.

    Chief Operating Officer

    Lilian Tham is Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Eastspring Investments.

    Lilian joined Eastspring in January 2021 with responsibility for operations, technology, digital, data and administrative support, as well as other strategic growth and change initiatives. She is a member of the Executive Management Committee.

    Prior to Eastspring, Lilian worked at Schroders for 26 years where, most recently, she was the Asia Pacific COO with oversight of Operations, Investment Services and Technology, Change and Innovation across the region.

    Lilian held a variety of technology and operational roles during her time at Schroders, including COO for Singapore and Head of Operations & Technology for Asia Pacific.

    She is a Fellow of the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore and actively volunteers her expertise in various industry associations and committees.

    Chief Financial Officer

    Francis Woo joined Eastspring Investments, the Asian asset management business of Prudential plc, as Chief Financial Officer, in January 2020.

    Francis is responsible for the financial management of the business, working closely with the regional support teams. He is a member of the Eastspring Management Committee.

    Prior to joining Eastspring, Francis was Chief Financial Officer, Asia for TPG Capital Asia, where he oversaw the firm’s profitability and the performance of its investments in Asia. He also focused on investment opportunities in Southeast Asia as Managing Director.

    Francis has spent over eleven years in investment banking. Before joining TPG Capital Asia in 2012, he was Co-Head of Corporate Finance for Southeast Asia at Credit Suisse Group AG. His investment banking experience includes time in New York with UBS Investment Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston.

    Francis holds an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

    Head of Corporate Strategy and Chief of Staff

    Janelle Yeo is Head of Corporate Strategy and Chief of Staff at Eastspring Investments. In addition to driving the firm’s strategic agenda and supporting the CEO in the roll-out of key organisational-wide initiatives, Janelle is also responsible for the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions, and the strategy and corporate development of Eastspring’s wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) in China. She is a member of the Executive Management Committee.

    Janelle joined Eastspring in 2008. Prior to taking up her current roles in August 2019, she was Chief Financial Officer for Eastspring Investments in Taiwan and, before this, Director of Regional Strategic Planning for the global business. Janelle also served as CEO (Interim) for Eastspring Taiwan from October 2019 to November 2020.

    Janelle has over 20 years of experience within the financial services sector in Asia. She began her career as a banking supervisor with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and then as a management consultant with Oliver Wyman.

    Janelle holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Accountancy (Hons) from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She has also been awarded the CFA charter.