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Credit Suisse appoints Nargolwala as Asia-Pacific CEO

Currently a member of the Standard Chartered board, Kai Nargolwala will succeed Paul Calello in January 2008.
Credit Suisse has hired Kai Nargolwala from Standard Chartered to become its new chief executive officer of Asia-Pacific, ending more than six months of speculation about who will succeed Paul Calello as the bankÆs top man in the region.

Based in Hong Kong, Nargolwala will oversee the investment banking, private banking and asset management divisions in the region and will become a member of the bankÆs executive board. He will assume his new responsibilities on January 1, 2008, and will report directly to Brady Dougan, Credit SuisseÆs CEO.

That the Swiss firm has chosen to hire an outsider for this job, rather than promote someone internally, is somewhat surprising. Market watchers had speculated that the firm was seeking to infuse some new blood into the bank when it took so long to announce a successor to Calello. Calello was named as the new CEO of Credit SuisseÆs global investment banking division in mid-February this year, and he took up the position in May.

By deciding on Nargolwala, Credit Suisse will finally have an Asian at the helm in this region. But the new hire also has plenty of experience from Europe and the US and brings more than 30 years of industry experience to his new role. The past 10 years have been spent with Standard Chartered and he has been a member of the Standard Chartered Board since 1999.

ôUnder Paul CalelloÆs leadership, we have built a very strong franchise in Asia-Pacific and Credit Suisse now enjoys market leader status across the region,ö says Dougan, in a statement announcing the appointment. ôWe have been particularly successful in providing holistic solutions to our clients and realising the benefits of the integrated bank. We continue to see growth opportunities in Asia-Pacific and, with KaiÆs appointment, we expect to build on the considerable momentum that we have already established in the region.ö

Calello relocated to New York in May after five years in Asia to assume his new investment banking role, but has retained his position as Asia-Pacific CEO while the bank has been searching for a successor. And he will continue to act as interim CEO of the region until Nargolwala comes on board in January.

Nargolwala is currently responsible for Standard CharteredÆs governance in Asia as well as for its global risk and special asset management functions. In this capacity he has also led the bankÆs M&A activities and been responsible for its relationships with regulators and governments and for senior client contact and talent management across the Asian franchise.

Before joining Standard Chartered, he worked at Bank of America for 19 years in Europe, the US and Asia, including a stint as group executive vice president and head of the Asia wholesale banking group, based in Hong Kong.

Nargolwala, who was born in 1950, is a citizen of the UK and a permanent resident of Singapore.
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