Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) has appointed Joseph Meyer to a newly created chief administrative officer (CAO) position, to oversee its major projects, administration and human resources departments.
“As we approach the halfway point of our 2010-12 strategic plan, there are several major projects, including the introduction of OTC clearing and hosting services, major IT upgrades and the completion of our next generation data centre, that require organisation-wide coordination to ensure success,” said HKEx chief executive Charles Li.
Meyer, as CAO, will be a member of the senior management committee and report directly to the chief executive. Meyer is the first CAO, and is expected to join the organisation in late June 2011.
HKEx's strategic plan aims to prepare the exchange for direct competition with the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges as well as other international competitors. It also hopes to take advantage of the internationalisation of the renminbi, although the recent IPO of Hui Xian Real Estate Investment Trust with which it launched its offshore renminbi-denominated equity market failed to perform as hoped.
The plan focuses on three areas – mainland positioning, business expansion and service improvements – and calls for HKEx to capture more mainland listings, trade more mainland products, expand cooperation with mainland participants, broaden its range of products and services, upgrade its IT and reform its listing regulation.
Meyer has 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. His most recent position was representative director of Chi-X Japan, the alternative trading system owned by international platform provider Chi-X Global.
He has also served as chief operating officer of Japanese bank Shinsei's institutional banking division in Tokyo, global COO for buy-side firm Deutsche Asset Management's insurance asset management group in New York, as well as COO of Deutsche Bank subsidiary Deutsche Securities' equities division in Tokyo. Meyer's other experience includes various roles with broker Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, New York and Tokyo.