The firm has announced a slew of senior appointments, which will be effective on July 31, when its acquisition of Legg Mason is expected to be finalized.

Franklin Templeton has appointed Vivek Kudva as its new head of Asia Pacific (APAC), including India, the investment management firm announced on Tuesday.

Based in Mumbai, Kudva will be responsible for leading the firm’s retail and institutional distribution across the region, and will report to Adam Spector, the newly appointed head of global advisory services.

Kudva brings more than three decades of industry experience and expertise in asset management and banking to the role. He joined Franklin Templeton in 2006, and was most recently managing director, India and EMEA. Previously, he spent two years as general manager of the National Bank of Oman, and 21 years at HSBC.

Legg Mason Acquisition

The investment manager announced in February that had entered into an agreement to acquire Legg Mason for $50.00 per share of common stock in an all-cash transaction.

The transaction is expected to close on July 31, 2020, and will create a combined $1.5 trillion AUM firm.

«The combination of our two distribution platforms will enhance organic growth in the region as we expand our presence in key markets such as Japan and Australia. In addition, we see tremendous growth potential in China as the country continues to further liberalize and open up its market,» Kudva said about the merger.

Senior Leadership Team 

The senior leadership team with expanded responsibilities in the combined organization within the APAC region, effective July 31, includes:

  • Dora Seow, who will take up an expanded role as country head of Singapore and the broader Southeast Asia region (ex-Malaysia and Vietnam) with additional responsibility for Asia institutional client services.
  • Isabella Chan, who will be appointed as head of Hong Kong, with additional responsibility for the Taiwan business. Shannon Wang, who will continue as general manager of Legg Mason Investments (Taiwan) and report to Chan.
  • Matthew Harrison, who continues in his role as managing director, Australia and New Zealand.
  • Linda Liang, who will take up a new role as head of China strategy, overseeing the business of its wholly foreign-owned enterprise in China, as well as joint venture Franklin Templeton Sealand Fund Management.
  • For India, Sanjay Sapre will continue in his role as the president of Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India).
  • In Japan, Suguru Kuwahata, currently president of Legg Mason Asset Management (Japan), and Tatsuya Oguchi, currently president of Franklin Templeton Investments Japan, will both report to Kudva and continue to develop the Japan business.
  • Yong-bae Jeon, who will continue in his role as president for Korea.
  • Avinash Satwalekar, who will take up an expanded role as country head of Malaysia, and will also oversee Asia marketing (ex-Japan and India). He will also continue to serve as chairman of the board for Vietnam JV Vietcombank Fund Management.
  • Richard Surrency, who will continue in his role as head of alternatives sales, Asia, focusing on growing the firm’s alternative business in the region.