BLACKROCK announced March 19 the appointment of Rimmo Jolly as head of iShares Asia Pacific, effective May 4.
Based in Hong Kong, Jolly will be responsible for growing iShares ETF market share and driving ETF adoptions amongst investors in the region.
He will work closely with BlackRock’s regional and global iShares network in creating innovative local product offerings and facilitate ETF ecosystem enhancements across the region. Jolly will report to Susan Chan, head of iShares and Index Investing Asia Pacific at BlackRock.
“Rimmo is a highly-respected finance industry veteran and brings a wealth of experience to our ETF business development and distribution,” says Chan. “The recent extreme risk-off market environment has showcased the underlying strength of ETFs. I look forward to working with Rimmo to bring our suite of global and local products to investors in the region, and to raise awareness of using iShares ETFs as an instrument of active investment management.”
Jolly is currently Citi’s regional head of ETF and Index Sales and Business Development, Asia Pacific & Japan. He spearheads client origination with a particular focus on asset owners holding growing and mature portfolios.
He has also served as senior relationship manager for the Markets business, focusing on Citi’s strategic partners including hedge fund and traditional asset managers, across all products.
In addition, Jolly previously held senior positions in Citi’s prime finance group in Hong Kong and San Francisco. Prior to that, he worked for Deutsche Bank’s equity structured products group, where he was involved in the delivery of solutions for hedge funds, pensions and endowments.
“The transparency of ETFs has proven valuable to investors especially during times of stress,” says Jolly. “I’m very excited to join the team in bringing ETFs into BlackRock clients’ investment making process. With ongoing education and outreach to the industry, regulators, and our clients on ETF application, iShares is well positioned to capture the tremendous growth potential in Asia Pacific with the broadest line-up of products in the ETF industry.”
