CIBC makes senior Asia hire

Toronto-based bank CIBC has appointed Andre LaJeunesse as managing director and head of fixed income, currencies and distribution for Asia.

LaJeunesse brings 19 years experience in sales, trading and origination in Asia. He will continue to be based in Singapore where he has spent much of his more than 15-year career. He starts at CIBC on April 27 and will report globally to Harry Culham, head of fixed income, currencies and distribution, and locally to Warren Gilman, who is head of the Asia-Pacific region.

LaJeunesse was most recently head of investor sales for Australian bank ANZ, responsible for broadening and deepening ANZ's penetration of the Asian investor market and increasing the bank's origination pipeline across 12 geographies. He reported to David Hornery.

He joined ANZ in November 2006 from ABN AMRO where he was managing director and responsible for senior investor coverage in the client strategy group. He also spent many years as regional head of ABN's financial institutions sales team.

CIBC announced the appointment of LaJeunesse the same day it announced that Duncan Rule will join the bank from Dresdner Kleinwort as head of foreign exchange trading. Rule will be based in Toronto and will also report to Culham. Both LaJeunesse and Rule will be members of the fixed income, currencies and distribution operating committee.

The hires suggest that the Canadian bank, which has a branch network of 1,050 branches across Canada, is trying to use the availability of talent as an opportunity to strengthen its wholesale banking capabilities.