Lindman will take over from Alan Wren who has served as interim CEO since Ajay Srinivasan left Prudential in June 2007 to join the Aditya Birla Group in Mumbai.
Prudential Corporation Asia has named Arne Lindman He began his career with Svenska Handelsbanken Group in Sweden as CEO of its fund management business, ending a nearly year-long search for the replacement of Ajay Srinivasan who resigned in June last year after almost a decade with the company.
Lindman was the CEO of ABN Amro Asset Management Asia-Pacific until the end of March. He will join Prudential on August 4 and will be based in Hong Kong. He takes over from Alan Wren who has served as interim CEO since Srinivasan left to join Aditya Birla Group in Mumbai as CEO of its financial services arm. Based in London, Wren has been a long-time consultant to Prudential’s fund management business in Asia and is expected to continue in that role.
Lindman will oversee and drive the growth of the asset management operations of Prudential Corporation Asia, which is the regional arm of UK insurer Prudential Plc. He will report to Prudential Corporation Asia CEO Barry Stowe.
Prudential’s fund management business is one of Asia’s largest, with $74 billion in assets under management and operations in 10 markets: China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates. A joint venture in Saudi Arabia is underway. The company’s presence in Asia began in 1997 when it formed a fund management JV with India’s ICICI Bank.
The transition is expected to be smooth when Lindman takes over from Wren because Prudential Corporation Asia has a solid team that has been actively involved in the fund management business in the region. The team includes deputy CEO SH Hwang, regional COO Ted Pull, and regional head of investment management Guy Strapp.
Lindman brings to Prudential Corporation Asia more than 21 years of global experience in managing and growing asset management businesses.
Previously, he was CEO of Alfred Berg Asset Management, which is part of ABN Amro Asset Management, in the Nordic region; before that, he was head of international equity products, chief investment officer of international equities, and portfolio manager at the firm. He began his career with Svenska Handelsbanken Group in Sweden in 1987, and has held posts in Luxembourg, London and New York.
Over at ABN Amro Asset Management Asia-Pacific, there will be no need to replace Lindman. The firm, although still an entity in certain jurisdictions, merged on April 1 with Fortis Investments, which is expected to be the surviving entity in due time. Fortis Investments’ CEO for Asia-Pacific is Stewart Edgar.
