American global investment management corporation, BlackRock Inc. has announced today a change in its leadership team by appointment of Geraldine Buckingham, the current corporate strategy chief as Chair and Head of the company’s Asia Pacific operations.
The move aims to strengthen the companies effort to grow its operations in Chinese region and the APAC region. Buckingham’s new role will be effective from February next year and will be relocating to Hong Kong from New York.
Buckingham, as Chair and Head of BlackRock Asia Pacific, will replace Ryan Stork who will then become Deputy Global Chief Operating Officer. According to BlackRock’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Laurence Fink, in recently with the change in economic scenarios around the APAC region, it has become one of the company’s “most critical priorities.
Both Buckingham and Stork has played an instrumental role in creating the company’s APAC strategy, with Stork spending almost five years deepening the company’s presence in the region.
In her new role, Buckingham will work towards furthering Stork’s efforts and drive growth in the region. Furthermore, she will also help BlackRock realize its longer-term ambitions, which is increasing its product range for clients who live or want to invest in the region.
Currently, Buckingham is a Senior Managing Director and the Global Head of Corporate Strategy at Blackrock and is also a member of the firm’s Global Executive Committee. She joined BlackRock in 2014 and prior to this, she was a partner at McKinsey & Company’s financial services practice in New York. Incidentally, her education background doesn’t totally relate to the field she works. She holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degrees from Monash University and also received the Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford University.
Laurence Fink commented on the development:
“Geraldine has earned respect around the globe for her deep insights and understanding of our industry and our clients’ needs, particularly in the Asia Pacific. She helped develop the firm’s long-term growth strategy for China and has been a key voice in our strategy for retirement, wealth, alternatives and sustainable investing. Geraldine has the business expertise we need to drive our business forward.”
Commenting on her appointment, Buckingham said:
“BlackRock’s business in the Asia Pacific is extremely well positioned to meet our clients’ retirement and wealth needs, thanks to Ryan and his team.
“I am thrilled to be taking on this new challenge and will maintain a sharp focus on current priorities while capitalizing on major growth opportunities to deliver the right mix of investment strategies for our clients.”
