BlackRock Asia bolsters its regional growth efforts by hiring an industry veteran to the newly created role of CFO and strategy head.

BlackRock, the US-headquartered investment management firm, has created a new chief financial officer role for its Asia-Pacific strategy.

Effective 25 February 2014, Andrew Reynolds assumes the post of CFO and head of corporate strategy, Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong. CFO is a new function in Asia, same with the corporate strategy position, which is combination of the finance and strategy functions. According to the firm, this will help better align efforts to grow the business regionally.

Reynolds was previously the global chief operating officer and CEO for Asia at CLSA. At BlackRock he will report to Mark McCombe, senior managing director and chairman for Asia-Pacific. He will also take on line-management responsibility for the Korea and Taiwan country heads. 

Asia-Pacific clients account for around 8 per cent of the firm's total assets under management as at the end of 2013. This is down from more than 10 per cent in 2010 and 2011. The company has been overhauling its Asia business in the past year, which included reorganising its senior management ranks in Australia. At the close of 2013, the BlackRock recorded a 63 per cent rise in net inflows for its Asia ex-Japan retail business compared to the previous year.

In January, the fund firm appointed Oisin Crawley as head of research in the Asian fundamental equity team; Crawley is based in Hong Kong and reports to Andrew Swan, head of Asian fundamental equity.

To view a recent commentary by BlackRock on financial market trends, see here.