Saxo Markets, a subsidiary of Copenhagen-based Saxo Bank, announced on Monday the appointment of Richard Douglas as the new Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. He replaced Fan Xu, who was overseeing the Hong Kong operations as the Greater China CEO and has now become the CEO of Saxo Fintech , a joint venture of Saxo and Geely.
Douglas has taken up the responsibilities of Saxo’s offices in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. He will oversee the bank’s overall business development and commercial activities’ strategy in both markets, strengthening the Saxo brand.
“I am very honored to take on this appointment,” Douglas said in a statement.
“Saxo is on an exciting journey of transformation globally, and in Hong Kong, we have a huge opportunity to become more relevant for more people, through our expanded offerings for investors and continued commitment to improving the client experience.”
Douglas spent the last 4 years in his more than 18 years of financial career with Saxo. Previously, he was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Officer at Saxo Markets' Greater China business.
Additionally, he has a greater understanding of the Hong Kong and Chinese markets as he spent significant time in his career working in the region. Before Saxo, he spent almost half a decade with the Macquarie Group in several leadership roles.
Moreover, he had stints with major financial institutions like Nomura, Citi and UBS.
Crucial Changes in Management
The reshuffle in the Chinese management of Saxo came at a time when the company is heavily focusing on business in the region.
“We believe that scaling and growing our Hong Kong business is critical to achieving our broader ambitions in the region, including building a strong partnership business,” said Kim Fournais, CEO and Founder of Saxo Bank.
Furthermore, the official announcement detailed that Patrick Chung will succeed Douglas in the role of COO and CIO. Additionally, Saxo’s country head of China, Echo Zhao, will leave the group.
“Saxo FinTech is a very important partnership for us and our majority shareholder, Geely, and with Fan fully dedicating his time to this joint venture, we are confident that Saxo FinTech will continue to grow strongly,” Fournais added.
