Ex-PwC Singapore director recruited as country head for SANNE

Alternative asset and professional services provider SANNE has appointed ex-PwC director David Fowler as its new country head for Singapore.

Initially established in Jersey in 1998, alternative asset and corporate administration services provider SANNE has since 2008 pursued a path of international expansion – now operating with a headcount of 1,400-plus from offices across four continents, including Asian outlets in Shanghai and Hong Kong launched in 2010 with Tokyo added at the beginning of this year.

A fourth regional base, in Singapore (established in 2014), now has a new country head, with the recruitment of former PwC director David Fowler. According to the firm, Fowler will be tasked with driving SANNE’s alternatives and corporate offering in Singapore and across the region. Fowler replaces Valérie Manto, who moves across as Head of Business Development for Asia Pacific & Mauritius.

“We have ambitious plans for our APAC business and there is much to deliver in 2019 and beyond,” said SANNE Asia-Pacific Managing Director Jing Jing Qian. “I look forward to working closely with David in his new role as Country Head − Singapore. His background in private equity and venture capital will be a great asset in helping SANNE deliver its future development and regional growth plans.”

Fowler joins after spending altogether more than a decade with PwC, first in Jersey between 2008 and 2013 (rising to the position of assurance manager), and from 2014 in Singapore, where he was made a director of PwC Singapore’s Venture Hub – described on its 2016 launch as the world’s first “one-stop shop targeted at helping investors and entrepreneurs active in the startup and innovation space navigate the complex ecosystem.”

“SANNE is uniquely positioned in that it offers high quality products across 18 global office networks,” Fowler said of his appointment. “I look forward to building equity into the brand in Singapore, and working with the wider APAC business leaders to deliver a compelling product proposition whilst ensuring our client service delivery remains of a high quality standard.”

The new Singapore country head further noted that the opportunity to join SANNE as the firm was on a successful growth path was one he couldn’t turn down, and the firm’s ambition is evident in a number of recent personnel signings – including last month its new M&A director Michael Riley, who joined after more than eight years with KPMG – and office launches so far this year in the Netherlands and Japan.

‘We are delighted to establish a new presence in an exciting market like Japan,” SANNE’s Chief Commercial Officer Mark Law said at the time. “This is in direct response to client demand and will serve to further add to our already well established Asian office network and market expertise. As an important global financial centre for alternative assets, our new office will be key to servicing our global and local institutional asset management client base.”