Morgan Stanley appoints Aronovitch as Southeast Asia CEO – memo

By Anshuman Daga and Yantoultra Ngui

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley has named David Aronovitch as its chief executive officer for Southeast Asia as part of its efforts to strengthen its franchise in the region, according to a memo seen by Reuters.

With the appointment, Ronald Ong, a veteran banker with a career spanning three decades, will focus on his role as the chairman of Southeast Asia, the memo shows.

Both will move into their new roles in the coming weeks, according to the memo.

A Morgan Stanley spokesperson confirmed the contents of the memo.

Aronovitch joined Morgan Stanley in 1998 as an analyst and was appointed head of Asia Pacific consumer retail investment banking in 2009 before becoming the global co-head in 2018, according to the memo.

He will continue to maintain sector client coverage responsibilities in his new role, the memo shows.

Ong has been with Morgan Stanley since 1995 and helped grow Morgan Stanley’s franchise in Southeast Asia since 2004. He will continue to play a “crucial role with senior clients and regulators” as chairman, according to the memo.

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga and Yantoultra Ngui, Editing by Louise Heavens)