Franklin Templeton has confirmed Matthew Harrison and Tariq Ahmad will take up the role of co-heads of APAC beginning in August.
The global investment manager said that Mr Harrison, who is currently managing director, Australia and Mr Ahmad, who is presently head of Asia distribution, will have joint ownership and accountability of APAC strategy to best serve its clients and drive growth in the region.
“The Asia-Pacific region is critical to the growth strategy for Franklin Templeton. Both Tariq and Matt are industry veterans with successful track records of leading investment management businesses,” said Franklin Templeton’s EVP of global advisory services Adam Spector.
“Their appointment will allow us to capture rapid growth opportunities in the backdrop of shifting market dynamics. Given the strengths of both leaders, we are confident that they will meaningfully accelerate the firm’s growth in the region.”
Mr Harrison and Mr Ahmad will take over from current head of APAC Vivek Kudva, who will retire next month after 16 years at Franklin Templeton in line with a plan put in place in 2019.
“Vivek Kudva has led our distribution efforts in both APAC and EMEA over his dedicated career at the firm. We would like to thank him for his important contribution over the years and wish him well in his retirement,” said Mr Spector.
Earlier this year, Franklin Templeton hired Anne Simpson to the newly created role of global head of sustainability to drive the firm’s overall strategic direction on stewardship, sustainability and ESG investment strategy globally.
Ms Simpson was previously a managing investment director for board governance and sustainability, and a member of the investment management committee at California Public Employees’ Retirement System.
“While the strength of our organisation lies with the breadth and autonomy of our specialist investment managers, we also recognise that an organisation of our scale can have a major impact by working collectively on sustainability issues,” Franklin Templeton president and CEO Jenny Johnson said at the time.
“We are thrilled to have Anne leading our efforts in this critically important area,”
More recently, Franklin Templeton Australia announced the appointment of Michael Bowen as a sales director to take the lead in several NSW-based accounts including private banks and independent financial advisors.
The firm said that Mr Bowen would draw from his experience of more than 15 years as a sales professional, including more than 10 years in the financial services industry.
