Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking has appointed Sadia Ricke as head of global finance for Asia-Pacific, replacing industry veteran Ashley Wilkins, who is taking up an as-yet undisclosed role within the bank.
Ricke will be based in Hong Kong and report to Hikaru Ogata, chief executive of global banking and investor solutions, and Pierre Palmieri, global head of global finance. The move took effect on January 1.
“I'm very excited to begin this new chapter and develop what is an already strong franchise for the bank,” Ricke told FinanceAsia. “Asia represents a huge growth market with a lot of potential.”
Ricke told FinanceAsia she would look to travel around the region to further enhance the brand in Asia once she has settled in the role.
Her previous position was head of credit risk for SocGen CIB in Paris and she began her career at the French bank in 1994 in the financial institutions credit department.
She has more than 13 years experience in the structured finance division and then the natural resources and energy finance division, where she was co-deputy head until 2010.
“Sadia possesses profound knowledge and expertise of the financing industry. She will play a key role in developing [the bank’s] global finance business in line with the bank’s strong ambitions for the region,” SocGen said in a statement.
It remains unclear which role Wilkins will move to. He is one of the bank’s most recognisable executives in Asia, having joined the bank in 1996, and also worked for NatWest in the UK in a 30-year career.
He was brought in to lead project finance, advisory and real estate operations in Asia and was named head of the capital raising and financing division in Asia in October 2007. Wilkins became head of global finance for Asia-Pacific in July 2009.
The bank would only say Wilkins would be taking up a new position in the group and that more details would be announced “in due course”.
SocGen CIB has been running its global finance business in Asia-Pacific for 20 years. It offers financing solutions across structured financing, debt capital markets, syndication and strategic advisory services.
