Goldman appoints new deputy for Asian wealth ops

FWR Staff

18 July 2008

Citigroup veteran Leung hops over to help build out private-client business. Kaven Leung, who earlier this month stepped down as head of Citigroup's Asia-Pacific wealth-management business, is set to join Goldman Sachs in the newly created role of deputy head of its Private Wealth Management unit in Asia . When he starts at Goldman in a few weeks, Hong Kong-based Leung will report to David Voon, head of Goldman's private-wealth-management division in Asia.

Memo

"Kaven will be responsible for establishing and executing Private Wealth Management's business strategy in Asia ex-Japan, as well as leading our team of investment professionals in developing client relationships," according to a Goldman memo sent to staffers earlier this week.

Leung spent 21 years at Citi. In his last role there he led a staff of 2,000.

For now at least Deepak Sharma, head of Citi's wealth-management operations outside the U.S., will take direct responsibility for the firm's private-client business in Asia -- a job he held until early 2007, when Leung took over.

Goldman has been building up its non-U.S. wealth-management operations for the past few years in a move to further diversify its revenue base. In 2006, the firm released a study predicting that Brazil, Russia, India and China -- the so-called BRIC economies -- would out-produce the G7 by 2040.

Last year India led the world in high-net-worth population growth, adding 23,000 new millionaires for a total of 123,000, a gain of 23%, according to the latest World Wealth Report by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch. China came next with 20.3% -- mainly on the back of stock-market gains. -FWR

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