J.P. Morgan will relocate its Latin America CEO Nicolas Aguzin to Hong Kong to head the bank’s Asia-Pacific operations as part of a global management reshuffle.
The appointment comes only eight months after Jeff Urwin, global head of investment banking, took on his additional role as Asia-Pacific CEO, replacing Gaby Abdelnour, who resigned from the position in March.
Abdelnour had spent 14 years with J.P. Morgan, six of them as chairman and CEO of Asia. At the time of announcing Urwin’s appointment in April, the bank was keen to point out that he would be its first global head of investment banking to be based in Asia.
In late July, the bank started reorganising its business, merging the investment bank, corporate bank and treasury and securities services to form the global corporate and investment bank, which is now organised into two groups — banking and markets, and investor services, with Mike Cavanagh and Daniel Pinto as the global co-heads of the division.
Since the reorganisation, Urwin’s broader responsibilities as head of global banking have meant that he is spending more time on the road, outside Asia, said a source.
“He’s got a lot more people to look after now. As much as we love him here, he’s got to be mobile,” added the source.
A spokesperson at J.P. Morgan could not confirm if Urwin will be based out of New York, but other sources said that was a good assumption. Before his global banking role, Urwin was co-head of investment banking for North America — and, before that, he was head of investment banking coverage, Americas, where he was responsible for industry group coverage of corporate clients in the region.
J.P. Morgan says that relocating Aguzin to the region is to ensure the bank stays focused on the opportunities that exist in Asia for clients and for the bank.
Aguzin
Aguzin, whose nickname is Gucho, is a J.P. Morgan veteran, with a successful track record in Latin America, according to one source.
He will relocate to Hong Kong in the new year and help Urwin manage the day-to-day business before transitioning to CEO during 2013.
During Aguzin’s 22-year career at J.P. Morgan, he has held senior roles across client coverage, M&A and capital markets, and in 2005 became CEO for Latin America. In 2008 and 2009, he also added senior country officer of Brazil to his responsibilities.
