HSBC Life makes senior appointments in Singapore
It has appointed Mr. Lee Kah Jing as Chief Product Officer, Mr. Gajan Yogaranandan as Chief Risk Officer, and Mr. Kapil Arora as Chief Financial Officer.
In May 2019, HSBC Life Singapore made sweeping upgrades to its business including the launch of its new brand, the expansion of its product suite, and widening its distribution channel to include independent Financial Advisory (FA) firms.
The business overhaul reflects the overall growth and evolving composition of Singapore’s insurance market including an ageing and wealthier domestic population, and a rise in international citizens seeking more sophisticated wealth and insurance solutions.
HSBC Life Singapore has since expanded its product manufacturing capabilities to ensure it offers a holistic range of products and solutions that meet the diverse needs of its customers across their different life-stages. It plans to introduce more product-first innovations which will close the protection gap that Singaporeans are currently facing. In particular, HSBC Life Singapore will develop more protection-geared products that can support its customers’ long term financial and retirement planning needs. To date, it has grown its overall headcount close to 25% within a year.
Mr. Carlos Vazquez, CEO, HSBC Life Singapore shared: “To meaningfully grow our business to scale, there’s a need for us to fire up all cylinders. This means having the support of a strong leadership team to drive key pillars of our business, be it at the product development and management aspect or oversight of key business risks and our financials, is critical.”
He added: “Kah Jing, Gajan and Kapil, all being seasoned experts in their respective areas of product development, risk management and finance will be well placed to help us continue driving these growth initiatives.”
The new appointments are as follows:
Mr. Lee Kah Jing, Chief Product Officer
Mr. Lee Kah Jing has more than 10 years of life insurance experience across key areas including analytics, enterprise risk management, product development and actuarial pricing. Mr. Lee was most recently Head of Product Actuarial at Sun Life Financial Indonesia, where he successfully grew the business by expanding its product suite and deepening collaboration with key distribution partners.
As Chief Product Officer, Mr. Lee will be responsible for the strategic implementation and execution of new product developments and the management of HSBC Life Singapore’s product suite. Mr. Lee will also be responsible for the delivery of customer-centric propositions that meet customers’ protection, education, retirement, legacy and saving needs.
Mr. Lee’s appointment is effective 1 July 2019 and he’s also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.
Mr. Kapil Arora, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Kapil Arora has a proven track record of more than 15 years in the field of finance & accounts. He joined HSBC Group in 2007 with its insurance JV in India, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Co Ltd as Vice President, Business Planning & Management Information. Mr. Kapil subsequently joined HSBC Insurance (Hong Kong) in 2014 where his last held position was Head of Financial Control.
As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Kapil will be responsible for all regulatory, statutory and management financial reporting of HSBC Life Singapore. Mr. Kapil will ensure key financial risks are within the business' risk appetite and put in place strong cost disciplines to ensure the efficient operation of the business.
Mr. Kapil is a Chartered Accountant and his appointment is effective 19 August 2019.
Mr. Gajan Yogaranandan, Chief Risk Officer
Mr. Gajan Yogaranandan has a proven track record of more than 15 years. He joined HSBC Group in 2011 where his last held position was Global Market and Credit Risk Manager. Prior to that, Mr Gajan was the Lead Market and Credit Risk Manager for HSBC’s Europe insurance business.
As Chief Risk Officer, Mr. Gajan will lead the insurance risk function in identifying, assessing and monitoring risks faced by HSBC Life Singapore’s Insurance business. Mr. Gajan will also provide strategic counsel to the management team on key risk concerns.
Mr. Gajan’s appointment is effective 26 August 2019 and he’s also a CFA Charterholder.
The new appointments highlight the strength of HSBC’s global career opportunities in particular, its focus on developing group talents as well as its ability to attract the best talent from the market.