Ueda Tomoko has been appointed chief operating officer for Asia-Pacific at BlackRock, effective 3 September.
In the role, she will report to Susan Chan, head of Asia-Pacific at BlackRock, and will relocate to Hong Kong from Tokyo.
Chan noted Ueda’s “exceptional leadership” in driving BlackRock’s growth initiatives throughout the region “to align with the structural changes taking place in the global economy”.
“These market forces – be they digital disruption, demographic divergence, transition to a low-carbon economy or geopolitical fragmentation – are presenting us with opportunities to share our expertise and insights with clients and investors, as they rethink their portfolios to generate returns,” Chan said.
“We are uniquely positioned to accelerate our momentum in this part of the world, and I’m confident Tomoko will have tremendous positive impact on our long-term success.”
Ueda has been with BlackRock since 2022, having joined as Asia-Pacific head of corporate strategy and development, where she was tasked with formulating the firm’s strategy and executing this against strategic priorities, while pursuing partnership opportunities in the APAC region.
Prior to this, she spent almost a decade at Nikko Asset Management across finance and strategic planning roles.
She has also held multiple leadership roles serving clients in the investment banking operations of Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch in the UK and Japan.
As APAC COO, Ueda takes the reins from James Raby, who will relocate to New York to take on the role of global head of compliance.
Commenting on the move, Chan described Raby as a “dedicated and passionate leader”.
“Beyond the direct impact he’s had on our business, he has mentored many of our young and talented professionals,” Chan said.
“On behalf of everyone in the BlackRock Asia-Pacific team, I wish to thank James for his great partnership over the past three years and wish him every success in the new role.”
